


Myosotis (勿忘草)

by VioletRain3 (legendofthefireemblem)



Series: less strange than dreams [3]
Category: Dream Festival! (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fae, Awkward Romance, Language of Flowers, M/M, NaNoWriMo 2019, Night Terrors, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-01-25 13:34:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 24,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21357067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legendofthefireemblem/pseuds/VioletRain3
Summary: Yuzuru wishes that his brother wasn't so enamoured with the human world as he is. Maybe then he wouldn't have fallen in love and have to deal with all the bullshit that comes with it.Daily updates until I run out of steam or finish Nanorwrimo.
Relationships: Amamiya Kanade/Sawamura Yuzuru, Katagiri Itsuki/Sawamura Chizuru
Series: less strange than dreams [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1511570
Comments: 31
Kudos: 5





	1. Iris (花菖蒲)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my NaNoWriMo project this year and I'm looking forward to churning this story out. I hope this fic itself can be read as a standalone, but the previous work (Taken Away) takes place concurrently to this chapter, so if you want more information on Itsuki and Chizuru's relationship please look there.
> 
> Thank you and enjoy!

"Where are you going?"

Yuzuru watches as his brother smiles sheepishly in response. 

"Ah, you remember when I went to the human realm that one time?"

"Yeah?" Yuzuru already knows he's not going to like the answer.

"Welllllll, I kind of got savedbyahumankidandnowIowehimmylife no biggie, gotta g-"

"Chizu!"

"What?"

"Why didn't you settle it right there?"

Chizuru pouts. "I tried asking him if he wanted me to take him here but he didn't want to."

"And you couldn't come up with anything else?" Yuzuru can't infuse his voice with enough disappointment.

Chizuru shrugs.

Yuzuru sighs. "Fine. Go and settle it."

Chizuru cheers and skips off.

Yuzuru isn't that worried. Human kids can be surprising, but they are rarely cruel. Better to have a debt to a kid than an adult.

As long as this gets resolved now and doesn't drag on, Chizuru should be fine.

* * *

"Hey, Yuzu, do you want to try this?" A bright green box is shoved in his face. 

"What the hell is that?"

"It's human sweets." Chizuru opens the box and takes two wafers, shoving them both in his mouth before Yuzuru can stop him. “They’re delicious~!” 

Yuzuru rolls his eyes. “At least close your mouth when your eating, I don’t want to see all that- wait, where did you get them?”

Chizuru quickly shoves another wafer into his mouth and shrugs. “From Icchan.”

“Icchan?” Yuzuru feels a headache coming on. “You mean that human kid who you owe a debt? He offered you sweets and you accepted?”

“Maybe.” Chizuru’s words come out mumbled thanks to the chewing. “Want one?”

“No, I don’t-” The simple vanilla scent of the wafers finally reaches Yuzuru’s nose. He’s not the biggest fan of sweets, but something about it is intoxicating. “Maybe just one.” He snatches a proffered wafer from his brother’s hand.

Yuzuru bites a small piece, cautious. He’s not a fan of offered goods; most of the time the strings attached are deadly. Considering his foolish beloved brother just inhaled what must be at least four of them - that’s not even counting the ones he ate before he offered the box to Yuzuru - and seems all right, they’re likely not poisonous.

The delicate wafer dissolves in his mouth, leaving behind the vanilla filling. There’s an elegant feel in its simplicity, nothing is overpowering his taste buds. Just sweet delicious ecstasy. Yuzuru devours the rest of the wafer before grabbing another one, ignoring the smirk on Chizuru’s face.

“Well?”

“They’re alright.” He states, using the most detached voice he possibly can. He doesn’t need Chizuru getting any ideas about hanging out with "Icchan" and getting more into debt.

“I’m gonna go tell Icchan~!” Chizuru shoves the box in Yuzuru’s hands and skips off.

“Wait!”

Chizuru is already out of sight. Yuzuru sighs. He opens the box. It’s empty. Typical.

* * *

Yuzuru scowls as he stares at the empty boxes of sweets lining the ground. Chizuru’s been wasting all his time in the human world recently. It’s not a good sign.

“Hey, Yuzu-”

“What?” Yuzuru bites back, ignoring how Chizuru flinches. “You’ve been gone this whole blooming period. It’s about time you’re back.”

“Sorry.” Chizuru pouts. “I just couldn’t stop talking to Icchan and-”

“And? We’re not human, you know? You still owe him. Pay it back before he gets wise of it.”

Chizuru frowns. “Well, what if I don’t want to?”

“Don’t be an idiot, Chizu.”

“Icchan’s not like that-”

“Even if he isn’t now, humans change. Their lives are short and ambitious. It’s not a question of if he’ll use you, but when.” Yuzuru sighs. “I don’t want him to cash in on that favour and lose you forever."

Chizuru softens. “You won’t. He’s not like that.”

Yuzuru scoffs. “He’s still a kid. Not even fully developed in human terms.”

“Well we’re not 'fully developed' either!” 

“Still. We live longer than they do. Mature faster. Or at least I did.”

“Yuzu…”

“You can’t keep ‘playing’ with him like he’s your friend, Chizu. You have to stop doing this. Don’t go back.”

“What?”

“Don’t go back to the human world. Just stay here. With me. The way it should be.”

Chizuru blinks away tears. Yuzuru hates hurting his brother like this, but it is definitely something he needed to say. It’s better that his heart is broken now than later with that Icchan kid. Better that his brother has a heart at all.

“Alright. But can I say goodbye?”

“Fine, as long as you don’t let anything slip.

“Ok. I’ll be right back.” Chizuru grimaces as he leaves.

It takes a shorter amount of time than Yuzuru was expecting, but once he sees the box and papers, he knows Chizuru did something else.

“What did you do?”

Chizuru beams. “I signed myself up for human university!”

“What.”

“It’s this place they go to as adults to learn more things. I found the one where Icchan is going and I signed myself up.” Chizuru pauses. “You said I should know him as an adult before I can fully judge him, so there. That’s when I’ll get to know him.”

“Chizu, I said to-” Yuzuru looks at the wafer that’s shoved in his face. He grudgingly takes it. “Fine, but if there’s any sign that he's going to take advantage of you, get out of there.”

“Don’t you want to come with me?”

Yuzuru scoffs. “The last thing I want to do is hang around with humans.”

“Come on, we can make more friends.” Chizuru gives him his best puppy dog eyes. “At least help me move in.”

Yuzuru rolls his eyes. “Fine. I’ll help you move in, but that’s it.”


	2. Helianthus (向日葵)

Much to his displeasure, that was not it. Yuzuru frowns as he overhears Itsuki whisper to Chizuru as they follow Kanade. The fact that Itsuki is observant isn’t a good sign. Someone who is oblivious would be way easier to fool about their true nature. Someone like Kanade.

The narrow corridors reek of body odour and it’s only the first day. He has no idea how Chizuru will manage to live in a dump like this - how he himself will, now that he made that mistake.

All because of a silly human smile.

“Ah, just give me a sec.” Itsuki produces the key from his pocket and opens the door. “Do you remember where you left it, Kanade?”

Their room doesn’t smell that bad, actually. There’s a faint vanilla smell that reminds him of the wafers, but also the smell of lavender and freshly cut grass. There’s something else he can’t quite identify that smells a little off. A little fae-like. Yuzuru frowns. What would that smell be doing in their room?

“I left it on the drawer, let me go check.” Kanade dashes off into his room, socks sliding on the wooden surface. There’s a thud, followed by a clatter. 

Yuzuru winces. He sees Itsuki start to move forward, but he moves faster. “I’ll go help.” He pretends to ignore the stares that follow him. His ears burn.

Kanade’s arm is outstretched under the drawer. A bowl as well as a few knickknacks are scattered on the ground.

“Let me try.” Yuzuru kneels down next to Kanade, stretching his arm out under the drawer. It’s stuck pretty deeply in, but the faint smell of metal reaches his nose. He looks to the side. Kanade stares back at him.

“Can you reach it?”

He definitely can’t. But his magic can. The key flies into his hand, brought by a small gust of wind. “I think I got it.” He stretches his arm out further as if still reaching for the key, grunting before he pulls it back in.

“Here you go, Kana-chan.” Yuzuru drops the key into Kanade’s palm, internally cringing at the nickname that slipped out.

“Thank you!” Kanade seems overjoyed to have the key back in his possession, flashing Yuzuru the brightest smile he’s ever seen in his life. Kanade slips the key into his pocket.

Yuzuru frowns. “Don’t you have a keychain or something?” It would certainly make it easier to grab if it fell behind the cabinet again. Kanade shakes his head. Yuzuru smiles. “I have an extra one in my apartment. I can give it to you if you’d like. Freely given.” Kanade may still owe him something for the favour, but definitely not for the keychain.

“That sounds great!” Even living amongst fae, Yuzuru had never quite seen someone’s eyes sparkle like Kanade.

“I’ll be right back.” Yuzuru runs out of the room.

“Yuzu? Where are you going?”

“I’ll be right back.” He repeats. His brother smiles and waves.

A keychain, a keychain…

Yuzuru slips behind the building where there are no students milling about. A small garden catches his eye. The flowers are almost out of season, in their last brilliant state during the end of the summer weather. Yuzuru finds himself staring at the sunflowers, big and bright, always looking at the sun. He approaches the smallest one. The moment his hand touches the flower it falls into his hand, flower shrinking and the stem curving around and hardening. A new flower grows in its place, taller and brighter than all the sunflowers around it.

That’s the keychain that he presents to Kanade.

“Wow, this is amazing!” Kanade rubs his thumb on the miniature sunflower. “It feels like a real flower. Where did you get it?”

Yuzuru freezes. “Ah, well…”

“We make them~” Chizuru hums.

“Really? That’s so cool! You guys should sell these or something.” Kanade slides his key onto the keyring and gives Yuzuru an even brighter smile.

“They’re only for special people.” That’s not entirely true, but Yuzuru wouldn’t bother wasting his magic on random humans anyways. Even though that is basically what he just did.

“Well, I’ll take good care of it.”

“Good.”

Itsuki coughs. “Do you guys want something to eat? There’s a coffee shop around here.”

“We should probably-”

“Let’s go~!” Chizuru threads his arm through Yuzuru’s. “Now that we’re going here, I wanna know where all the yummy food is!”

Yuzuru does not like coffee. The smell is strong, bitter and overpowering - did they burn it?

His brother elbows him.

“What?” hisses Yuzuru.

“Here, put it in the coffee.” Chizuru hands him a container filled to the brim with little granules of sugar.

It takes Yuzuru two attempts to figure out how exactly to pour the sugar into his coffee - it’s not his fault the opening side isn’t clearly marked. While the smile on Itsuki’s face makes him scowl, the one on Kanade’s face makes his heart skip a beat.

“You both like your coffee really sweet, huh? Have you tried Itsuki’s sweets yet? They’re sooooo good.”

“They’re amazing~.” Sighs Chizuru.

“Well, I have some at the apartment, if you guys would like them.”

“Yeah, we-“

Yuzuru coughs. “We really should go and set up our own room.”

“Do you need some help?” Kanade almost looks like a puppy. Yuzuru feels a twinge. If only he could be as enthusiastic as moving into a room.

“No, we’ll be fine.” Don’t need two humans stumbling in on something them using magic.

“Alright - oh that’s mine.” Kanade grabs the ledger offered by a server.

Itsuki starts reaching for something in his bag. “I can cover it-” 

“You guys helped me already, this is my treat.”

Yuzuru frowns. What’s going on? Kanade stands up and heads towards the cash register. When he sees the exchange of money it finally sinks in. He found Kanade’s key and Kanade bought him coffee. They’re on even ground. The one thing Yuzuru has been telling Chizuru to do with Itsuki.

For the first time in his life, he doesn’t like the feeling.


	3. Wisteria (藤)

It’s not long until he ends up on the wrong side again. It’s entirely Chizuru’s fault.

They were pretty even throughout the first two weeks. Chizuru drags him out to their room, they give them food to eat and Yuzuru returns the favours by helping them clean or helping Kanade study.

But then he starts to fall behind. Kanade insists on paying for Yuzuru whenever they're out together, even if it is just a coffee - not like Yuzuru has much to pay with though. There’s only so many classes he and Kanade are taking together - why do “majors” exist? They’re so limiting - and there’s only so much tutoring he can do.

Then autumn comes. It starts slowly, the leaves start turning orange and the air begins to have a cool crisp bite to it.

“Do you have a sweater? You’re shaking.”

Yuzuru does not have a sweater.

He shakes his head. He could definitely glamour up a sweater, but it’s too late for that now that Kanade’s noticed.

Suddenly bright red fabric obstructs his view. Yuzuru starts to squirm.

“Oops.”

There’s a big tug and the fabric is pulled down around him. It’s the sweater Kanade was wearing.

“What do you think? It’s a little old, but still pretty warm.”

Yuzuru fidgets. "Won’t you need a sweater?”

Kanade smiles. “I got a new one a while back, it’s a little itchy, but that’s because I haven’t worn it in. Keep it.”

Yuzuru picks at a stray thread. It’s certainly well loved. The scent of freshly cut grass and hot chocolate enter his nose. It smells comforting, like sitting by a wood fire covered in a blanket.

Kanade starts jogging in place. “Believe me, I feel warmer already!”

Yuzuru smiles softly. “Alright.”

When he gets back to their apartment, he almost explodes when he sees Chizuru engulfed in a rather large hoodie sitting curled up with a textbook.

“Ah, Yuzu!”

“What the hell are you wearing?”

Chizuru smiles, jumping up off the chair. “Icchan gave it to me!” He extends his arms out, the sleeves sliding over his hands. “Ta-da!”

“You look ridiculous.”

“Well, you’re wearing the same thing.” Chizuru sticks his tongue out at him.

Yuzuru looks down at his previously-owned-by-a-human sweater. He sighs. Yeah. He is.

* * *

Yuzuru fiddles with the sleeves of Kanade’s ex-sweater as he waits for their coffee to arrive. They almost never interact without his brother by his side - “That’s just like twins, isn’t it!” Murmurs Kanade - but today Yuzuru went out on a limb. There’s something about Kanade that makes him feel emotions more passionately, see the world more vividly and drives him to actually tolerate this make friends with the humans thing. After an annoying conversation with his brother, which escalated with two randoms offering their opinions, the general consensus is that he should go hang out with Kanade aside from studying. So here they are, sitting at the only tolerable café on campus; Yuzuru drowning in an oversized red sweater and Kanade fiddling with a sunflower keychain.

Usually Kanade would start their conversations with something that happened to him during the day or a general question. But right now, he seems intensely focused on stirring his coffee with a stir stick.

“Uhm-”

“Ah-”

They both blush and look down at their coffee. Yuzuru grabs his and takes a long drink. Kanade grabs his as well, swooshing the liquid around in the cup. Yuzuru feels this strange chill crawling up his body. His stomach is doing flip flops. His eyes dart between his coffee and Kanade’s hands. It’s almost like he’s nervous, but ten times stronger. He can’t handle it.

“Why do you make me feel so many things?”

“What?” Kanade’s mouth falls open into a perfect o-shape. His eyes are comically wide, staring into Yuzuru’s own.

Yuzuru feels his face heat up. “I mean, I really like spending time with you Kanade.” More than he does with his idiot brother and other, dumber humans.

“Oh!” Kanade beams. “I like hanging out with you too, Yuzuru.” Yuzuru feels his heart rise and fall. Kanade launches into the story of how he showed up late to class but the professor had forgotten to take attendance until the end so he won’t lose those points off his grade and-

Yuzuru feels both relieved and frustrated.

Right after they've finished saying their goodbyes, Yuzuru moves to leave. Kanade grabs his hand.

"Yuzu?"

Yuzuru feels his heart leap into his throat. "Yeah?"

“We should do this more often.” Kanade gives him another big smile.

“Yeah,” Yuzuru feels his heart beat again. “We should.”


	4. Cactus (覇王樹)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning for mentions of and implied sex in this chapter. Nothing explicit.

After a few more “hangouts” with Kanade, Yuzuru is fully aware that there is something wrong with him. He’s fixated on Kanade, staring out the window and trying not to daydream about him - not that the autumn leaves are helping. He wears the sweater like a second skin, shedding it only for washing (bless the fact that he can dry it faster than any dryer). He’s not quite sure what to do. His symptoms are mostly minor, but they’re causing massive distractions in his focus and precision. No longer is he quick on his feet or with his words. No longer is he doing as good in these silly human subjects that have stopped making sense.

“Dude, you need to get laid.”

“What.” Yuzuru stares at the pyjama-wearing university student carrying a caffeine drink. Why did Chizuru insist they live in the university residences? Then again, if they didn’t, he wouldn’t be so close to Kanade…

He’s fairly certain about the implications, but he still feels the need to ask.

“What does getting laid mean?”

There’s no answer. The student is gone.

Yuzuru sighs. It’s probably better no one knows anyways. Especially Chizuru.

He ends up staring at the TV as he thinks out his predicament. They haven't figured out how to change it from the drama channel, but he doesn't really mind. He needs to get Kanade on board without taking advantage of him. After all, he’s still in Kanade’s debt. The act should be consensual, utilitarian and - Yuzuru feels his face heat up - enjoyable.

These thoughts are mostly unknown and complicated. He doesn’t quite know what to do. He’s never heard of any good endings where fae intermingle with humans - although humans are usually on the losing side of that battle. He doesn’t want Kanade to get hurt.

But he still wants Kanade.

For a moment, he wonders if Chizuru has ever had these thoughts about Itsuki.

He quickly banishes the thought from his mind. Even if his brother did - which is certainly possible, not that he likes that - he doesn’t seem to treat Itsuki or talk about him as anything more than a friend.

The next time he runs into Kanade, he manages to talk his way into their dorm. And the next. And the next. Quite honestly, Yuzuru thought that the implication would be enough. Clearly it isn’t, as Kanade takes his statements of having a fun time together and playing to mean playing video games together. Yuzuru has greatly improved at racing games and party games. He lets Kanade win just to see his smile every time.

He really does need to get laid.

Yuzuru nearly cries when Kanade suddenly asks if they’re having a date. They’re having coffee in a booth, sitting on the same side of the table. Kanade just finished knocking over the sugar into Yuzuru’s lap and they’ve both for once noticed how close the other is - although Yuzuru has been noticing these little things all along.

“Yeah, I think so at least.”

Kanade freezes at that answer. Yuzuru is not quite sure why. The dramas make it seem like dates aren’t a big deal. The protagonist goes on tons of them: with the rich but insensitive male protagonist, the shy and gentle rival, the cool mature senior who has his eye on her-

“Sorry!” Kanade cleans the sugar off with a napkin. Yuzuru feels his body temperature go up. He needs Kanade. Just what has he gotten himself into? Kanade checks his phone. “You know, both Itsuki and Shin are out visiting their families. Why don’t we take our coffees back and play some games?”

“I would like that.”

When they enter the apartment, there’s a strange static in the air. Kanade boots up the console as usual and Yuzuru sets their drinks on the coasters.

“Do you want to be player one?”

“Sure.”

They open up a bag of sweets - Itsuki won’t mind - and start to play. Somewhere during the grand prix, Yuzuru forgets to let Kanade win. It doesn’t matter because the race after is dominated by Kanade. Each race following sends a shiver up his spine, it’s nothing like the casual friendly air before. Electricity fills the room as the two of them clash, mashing buttons on the controller as quickly as possible. And Yuzuru loses.

“Congrats…” He’s not quite sure how Kanade beat out his superior fae reflexes, maybe they’re not quite as superior as he thought.

Kanade pants. “Thanks!” He takes a swig of the now-cold coffee. Yuzuru averts his eyes. There’s something about that simple sight that’s making him riled up. “Did it get really hot in the room, or is it just me?” Kanade takes off his shirt. Yuzuru’s face becomes as red as his sweater.

“Excuse me.”

He jumps up and runs into Kanade’s room, slamming the door behind him. He can’t handle this. His body is getting way too excited. He can’t do this anymore.

“Yuzuru?” Kanade is knocking on the door. “Can I come in?”

Yuzuru realizes his knuckles are going white around the doorknob. He lets go. “Yeah.”

Kanade opens the door in full shirtless glory. They stare at each other for what feels like an eternity. Yuzuru can’t take his eyes off his chest. Kanade started playing on one of the intramural soccer teams a while back. They have clearly been training hard.

“Uhm…”

“Ah…”

Yuzuru realizes he’s shaking.

“Are you cold?” Kanade’s hand is on his own, pulling him towards the dresser.

“Actually, I’m very hot.” Yuzuru takes off his sweater and throws it onto the bed. He suddenly remembers he wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

Yuzuru waits. Kanade doesn’t let go, eyes travelling up and down Yuzuru’s body. 

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I’m feeling perfectly okay.” Yuzuru nearly spits the words out, stopping his knuckles from curling into fists. “I just want to-” The dramas never covered this part.

“You want to?”

He feels his face go redder. “Take off your clothes.”

Kanade continues staring at him. “Ok.” Kanade slowly undoes the button on his jeans, sliding them off his legs. “Do you want me to keep going?”

Yuzuru nods. Kanade doesn’t move. “Yes.” He hates the way his voice cracks.

Kanade whips off his socks and then slowly slides off his underwear. Yuzuru can’t avert his eyes. There’s something about human anatomy that is so horrifying but so right. He slowly imitates Kanade’s movements, sliding off his pants and then his underwear. Once the last bit of his clothing lies on a pile in the corner of Kanade’s room, he lies down on Kanade’s bed.

Kanade lies down next to him. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Yuzuru nods. “Yeah, I do.” He shivers. “Please make love to me.”

“A-Alright.”

It’s the most enlightening experience in his life.


	5. Oenothera (月見草)

He’s in love with Kanade Amamiya. There’s no way to escape the fact. He’s been in love with Kanade since he first set eyes on him.

Caffeniated pyjama guy was right: he really did need to get laid. 

Now that he isn’t obsessively thinking about Kanade anymore, he’s finally able to pay attention again to his lectures and readings. And his brother’s incessant conversation. Most of which revolved around a very specific friend. 

Itsuki.

Perhaps the most hated person in Yuzuru’s life - he can hear Kanade’s voice already, "you don’t really hate him" - but he has indirectly caused most of his current misfortunes: caused his idiot brother to enrol in university, caused him to meet Kanade and fall head over heels in what can only end in tragedy, caused him to be annoyed by his brother’s nonstop fawning over Itsuki himself.

That’s when the second realization hits him. His brother is in love with Itsuki. What else could have made his slippery brother so easily caught in a trap? Although now that he thinks about it, sweets probably could have caused that and-

“He’s just so sweet~!”

Definitely sweets.

“Not as sweet as Kanade,” teases Yuzuru, smirk growing on his face.

“Huh?” Chizuru seems more than a little confused by Yuzuru’s rebuttal. “What are you talking about? Icchan is the nicest person we know- oh.” He sees the realization run across his face. Yuzuru had already brought up his and Kanade’s relationship - what kind of older brother would he be if he didn’t promote his success and flaunt them in his brother’s face? Chizuru blushes a little. “I’m gonna ask Icchan on a date!” He turns to Yuzuru. “Maybe we can go on a double date!”

“For the first one? Don’t you want a little space?”

Chizuru is already out the door. Yuzuru rolls his eyes. Even though his brother is heads over heels and the two have known each other for years now, he can't help but be suspicious of Itsuki. Evil things often hide behind nice facades. If Itsuki ever hurts his brother, Yuzuru will kill him with his own bare hands.

When Chizuru comes back in less than half an hour, Yuzuru knows something went wrong. He would have expected them to go on that date nearly immediately. The tear tracks on Chizuru’s face are a dead giveaway as he dives into Yuzuru’s arms.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Icchan got mad at me.” Chizuru hiccups.

Yuzuru pauses. The occurrence is uncomfortably close to his negative thoughts to feel right. “Now that, I can’t believe.”

“He did,” sniffles Chizuru. “It was my fault. I think he might know.”

A shiver runs down Yuzuru’s spine. “What the hell happened?”

* * *

Chizuru spots Itsuki from the other side of the road.

“Icchan!” He waves his arms wildly above his head. “I need to talk to you!” He runs across the road, eyes on Itsuki’s face as his smile turns into a grimace. He’s barely three-quarters across when Itsuki reaches out for him and pulls. They tumble onto the sidewalk. A car horn echoes as a car speeds past them.

Chizuru quickly gets onto his feet, small scratches already healing thanks to his magic. Itsuki should be mostly safe from harm as well, thanks to the protection charm he gave him.

But Itsuki’s not getting up.

“Icchan?”

Itsuki slowly pulls himself onto his knees. He runs a hand through his hair. The protection charm that’s usually tucked underneath his shirt hangs outside it, swinging back and forth against his chest with every shaky exhale.

“Icchan?” Chizuru slowly approaches, reaching a hand out for Itsuki.

“Chizu…” When Itsuki looks up at him, his eyes are pooling with tears. Chizuru reels back at the unexpected sight. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“Can’t do what?” He steps closer again.

“That’s the third time you’ve crossed the street without looking this week! Do you want to get hit by a car?!”

Chizuru flinches. Itsuki’s never raised his voice with him. “Icchan is always there-”

“And what happens when I’m not?! If I’m too late?!” Itsuki’s breathing is loud and ragged. “I can’t take it anymore, Chizu. I can’t watch you throw yourself in front of traffic and rely on me to pull you out.”

Chizuru blinks away his own tears. What’s going on? “I only want to stay by Icchan’s side.”

“Well, it can’t happen if you’re going to be so self-destructive the whole time!” Itsuki fingers the charm. Chizuru inhales. “I can’t save you all the time, Chizu. I-” Itsuki’s breath hitches. He brings his hand up to wipe his own tears. “I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”

“Icchan? What are you talking about?” Chizuru waves his hand in Itsuki’s line of sight. “Wh-what do you mean we shouldn’t see each other anymore?”

“It means what it says, Chizu.”

“But Icchan-”

Itsuki shakes his head, tears overflowing. “Sorry, Chizu.” He brushes past him, not looking back.

“Icchan?” Chizuru can’t help but stare after him, unable to move.

* * *

“And you didn’t go after him?”

Chizuru looks down at the ground. “I didn’t want to make it worse. Do you think I should have?”

“Well, why were you jumping into traffic all those times, huh?”

Chizuru fidgets. “Ah, well… I want to stay with Icchan no matter what!”

It sinks into Yuzuru’s brain immediately. “You kept getting him to save you so that you’d owe him?! Shit, Chizu what the hell were you thinking?” 

Chizuru flinches. “I really like Icchan okay? I- I don’t want to be apart from him.”

Yuzuru sighs. “Well, he doesn’t know that. To him it just seems like you’re throwing yourself into harm’s way.” He pauses. “And you’d reveal yourself if you ever did get hit by a car. Is that what you want?”

Chizuru pouts. “Fine, I’ll go tell him.” He slams the door behind him.

Just what is he going to tell Itsuki? That they’re both Fae? Yuzuru leans his head against the wall. What have they gotten themselves into?


	6. Viola (菫)

“Icchan! Can I come in? I want to talk!”

“Is this allowed?” whispers Kanade.

“Of course it’s allowed.” Yuzuru rolls his eyes. “Why can’t I spy on my little brother?”

“Well, Ritsu gets mad when I-”

Yuzuru hears a knock at the door. He puts his hand against Kanade's mouth. “Shhh.”

The sound of the main door creaking open stops their conversation.

“Itsuki’s not in right-”

“Shi-kun, can you please please please let me in?”

Yuzuru can’t see Chizuru’s face, but he can imagine the puppy eyes he’s likely making right now. Chizuru runs past Kanade’s room and knocks on the next door. Yuzuru raises his finger to his lips. Kanade nods. They both inhale as the door opens.

“Chizu,” Itsuki’s voice barely comes through the wall. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to explain!”

“… Alright, come in.”

The door creaks shut and the sound of the mattress springs echo. He can imagine Chizuru jumping onto the bed. Yuzuru leans against the shared wall of Kanade and Itsuki’s bedrooms.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think that I was bothering you.”

Itsuki inhales. “You weren’t bothering me, Chizu. I just can’t let you rely on me to do it. What if I failed?” His voice cracks.

“Icchan-”

Itsuki takes a sharp breath. “And I can’t bear that responsibility, Chizu, I can’t have your death on my shoulders.”

“My death?” Chizuru’s words waver.

“Sorry, I guess I’m overreacting a little, huh. I’ve been having some nervous dreams lately, that’s all.”

“Dreams?”

Yuzuru rolls his eyes. Maybe there was hope before of them making up, but now his brother is almost certainly distracted by this dreams tangent.

“What were they about?”

“Uhm,” Itsuki’s hesitance is palpable. “It was a repeating dream, always the same. I was standing on the other side of the road, like today, and you would wave at me and start to cross the road. But then, a car came and…”

“Icchan…”

“I still can’t erase the image from my mind, you know?” Yuzuru can hear the faint sound of crying. “You, lifeless on the ground, limbs sprawled and broken.” Yuzuru nearly feels faint from the description. Kanade pulls him away from the wall.

“Are you ok?” He whispers.

Yuzuru nods. “Yeah.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen, Icchan!” Yuzuru wouldn't be surprised if even Shin heard Chizuru's determined statement.

Itsuki's voice is still quiet in return. “When I saw you today, it felt like it could.”

“It won’t happen because I won’t do that anymore. I won’t run into traffic ever again, or put myself in harm’s way.”

“But why did you do it in the first place, Chizu?”

Yuzuru inhales sharply. Kanade whips around to look at him in confusion. Yuzuru prays his brother and Itsuki are too caught up in their conversation to notice the sound.

“I… was doing it because that way, I owed you a debt.”

Itsuki snorts. “A debt? What are you talking about Chizu, you never owed me a…”

It’s sinking in. Yuzuru wonders how much Chizuru will explain explicitly and if he needs to get out before Kanade gets curious himself.

“So, we were only hanging out because of a debt? That’s the only reason you came and talked to me when we were little?”

“No way!”

“But it was one of them, wasn’t it?”

Silence settles around them. The temperature drops. Yuzuru snuggles deeper into his sweater, grasping Kanade’s hand that reached for his instinctively. 

“Chizu, you don’t owe me anything.”

Chizuru starts to mumble something.

For once, Itsuki talks over Chizuru. “There is no debt. I’m not indebted to you, you’re not indebted to me. I wasn’t doing you favours because I expected something in return I was doing them because I like you. Because I love you.”

“Icchan!” The voice crack says it all. The waterworks start. “I’m not even sure what love is, but I think I love you too.” Yuzuru nearly facepalms. He can hear a laugh from the other room, interspersed with sniffling.

“Fucking finally.” Yuzuru leans away from the wall, settling onto Kanade’s bed. 

Kanade scoots next to him. “You’re crying.” He smiles.

Yuzuru rolls his eyes, wiping the tears off his face. “So what if I am?” He grabs Kanade by the shirt. “Get in here.”

“I thought you didn’t want them to know we were here- ok.”

* * *

Maybe it gets a little more sugary sweet than he expected with his brother. There’s a lot more of those “double dates” and a lot more of his brother hanging off Itsuki at every opportunity.

They’re both royally screwed. 

“Oh, Icchan is so strong and gentle. Last night, when-”

“No details.” Yuzuru insists. “If I have to hear any details about your sex life, I’m going to vomit.”

“Aww, but you got to brag when you and Kanade do it. That’s not fair.” Chizuru sticks out his tongue.

“It was only the first time and this is different.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m the older brother and I said so.”

“But we’re twins!”

“No, we’re not. There’s only human twins, Chizu. Not Fae twins.”

Chizuru pouts. “Well, can I at least tell you about the first time then?’

“No.”

“But it’s something humans do with their friends, apparently.”

“First, we’re not human. Secondly, we’re brothers-”

“Not friends?”

Yuzuru rolls his eyes. “Brothers are closer than friends, Chizu, but that doesn’t mean I have to know any horrid details.”

“Fine.” Chizuru stalks into the hallway.

“Where are you going?”

“To find a human friend who cares about my sex life!” He slams the door.

Yuzuru rolls his eyes.

A muffled voice comes from the hallway. “Oh, man, you got laid? Congrats!”

Yuzuru slams his head onto his desk. Humans.


	7. Canna (カンナ)

“Hey, Yuzu?”

“Yeah, Kanade?” Yuzuru looks up from the box of Katagiri Sweets. He did not come over to eat them and he most certainly did not enjoy them. He grabs a small pastry with confectionary sugar and shoves it into his mouth.

“I’ve been having a strange dream.” Yuzuru raises an eyebrow. “Everything’s dark, like I can’t see. Then I hear a voice behind me. I turn around but it’s pitch black. I turn back around but then I feel their breath on the back of my neck and I scream.”

“And?”

“That’s it. I wake up screaming.”

“Huh.”

“At first I didn’t remember it, but Itsuki mentioned that he had woken up to me screaming a few times before and that he’s been having weird dreams too.”

“Uh-huh.” Yuzuru stirs his coffee. As far as he knows, it’s not strange for humans to have dreams. Especially creepy and accurate ones, according to the dramas he watches.

“What if this residence is haunted?”

Yuzuru snorts. “Has Shin been having weird dreams too?”

“No, but Shin never dreams.”

Yuzuru drops the stir stick. “He doesn’t?”

“He says he never remembers them.” Kanade shrugs. “Maybe the residence ghost is only haunting me and Itsuki!” He pulls out his phone, typing away. “Do you know anything about offerings to ghosts to soothe their souls?”

“Kanade, it’s not a ghost.”

“Oooo, it says here if we leave sweets out that the spirits will be placated!”

Kanade reaches for the box. Yuzuru grabs it. Their eyes meet.

“Kanade, we’re not wasting these sweets on a non-existent ghost.”

“I thought you didn’t like them.” Itsuki’s voice sounds surprised. He’s never seen Yuzuru eat his sweets before. Yuzuru glances at the half-eaten pastry that’s in his hand. That’s a streak he broke today.

“Even then, there’s no use wasting it on a non-existent ghost.”

“I don’t think there’s any harm in leaving them out for one night, right?”

“They’ll go stale.” States Yuzuru, but it goes unheard.

“Yeah, we can check back in the morning and see if they took our offering!”

“Why don’t I just sleep over, you’ve never had any nightmares when I’m around, right?”

Kanade doesn’t hear him, he’s too busy grabbing a plate from the pantry. “What do you think a ghost will like?”

“How about we set out a little of everything, that way they can pick?”

“That’s a great idea!”

Yuzuru facepalms. They really did pick the dumbest humans to date, didn’t they?

* * *

Yuzuru shows up at their residence the next morning with two cups of coffee. Shin lets him into the residence with a small smile.

“They’re still sleeping. You can sit at the table meanwhile if you’d like.”

Yuzuru does exactly that, hands wrapped around his coffee without taking a sip. Finally, Kanade crawls out into the kitchen.

“Yuzu?”

“Kana-chan, you look like shit.” Yuzuru hands Kanade his coffee.

“I feel like shit.” Mumbles Kanade, chugging the coffee. “Had even weirder dreams last night, if that makes sense.”

“And what about the sweets?”

“Ah, I forgot!” Kanade scrambles back into the hall and comes back with the plate. All the sweets are still on it.

Yuzuru can’t help but feel a little smug. “See, there is no ghost.”

Shin hovers near Itsuki’s room. “I’m going to check if he’s alright.”

Now that his worry has calmed down, Yuzuru feels a strange scent reach his nostrils. It’s not like anything he’s smelled in the apartment before. It’s almost like the scent of a fae but more… powerful.

“Yuzuru, are you alright?” Suddenly, Kanade’s arms are around him. Yuzuru realizes that the world is sideways. Wait, that’s not quite right. Kanade helps him steady himself.

“Sorry, I was feeling faint.”

“Did you get enough sleep last night? Was the ghost at your place?”

Yuzuru rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I got enough rest as usual.” Not like he needs that much anyways. “Also, there isn’t a-” Itsuki stumbles into the room, looking deathly pale. “Ghost.”

Shin moves into the kitchen, preparing coffee on their fancy machine. At first Yuzuru wasn’t convinced about Shin’s strange coffee machine making better coffee than the one good place on campus, but now, he’s been converted.

“Itsuki, are you…” Kanade trails off. Itsuki is quite obviously not okay, considering how he seems to be in complete shock.

Shin places a steaming cup of coffee in Itsuki’s hands. “You should drink something.”

Itsuki doesn’t move.

“Itsuki?” Kanade moves onto the couch next to Itsuki.

There’s a frantic knocking at the door. Chizu. Yuzuru immediately runs to open it, knowing what’s in store.

Chizuru bursts in, running past him and nearly diving onto the spot on Itsuki’s other side, almost hitting the cup of coffee.

“Icchan?” Chizuru puts his hands on top of Itsuki’s. “What happened?” His hands move up towards his neck, fiddling with the protection charm. The faint smell of sickly sweet flowers reaches Yuzuru’s nose. He wonders why the thought of using healing magic hadn’t occurred to him.

“Chizu?” Itsuki’s voice comes out hoarse.

“Icchan!” Chizuru wraps his arms around Itsuki. Itsuki keeps a firm grip on the coffee, surprisingly unflinching. Then again, Yuzuru isn’t surprised he’s used to his brother’s hugs. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Didn’t sleep so well last night.”

“That’s the opposite of fine.” Yuzuru rolls his eyes.

“Did Shi-kun wake you up?”

“No, I was just lying in bed.”

“Oh.”

Itsuki takes a sip of his coffee. “Thanks for the coffee, Shin.”

Shin gives him a small smile back. “No problem. You look more awake now.”

“I guess the test tomorrow is really stressing me out.” Itsuki lets out an awkward laugh. Yuzuru has a sinking feeling in his gut that it’s almost certainly not the test.


	8. Nerium (夾竹桃)

“So, did he tell you anything?”

“Not anything true,” mumbles Chizuru.

“Huh. Are you sure?” He doesn’t like Itsuki, but he’s never characterize him as dishonest. At least not openly.

“Yeah. He is worried about his test and he’s studying right now but this has really shaken Icchan up.” Chizuru pauses. “It reminds me of when he said we shouldn’t see each other anymore.” Yuzuru hears the voice crack and he knows what’s coming.

“Chizu, he’s not going to break up with you again. He’s not a complete idiot.”

Chizuru shakes his head. Tears start to roll down his cheek. “It’s not that. I’m worried about him. What if I’m just putting him in danger?”

Yuzuru frowns. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’ve never seen Icchan like that before.” Chizuru wipes away a tear. “You always say that humans and fae can’t work out. What if this is why?”

The air grows thick. A distinct rotting smell accompanies it. Yuzuru takes the time to choose his words carefully. “I don’t think stressful dreams are a sign of things not working out.”

The rotting scent intensifies. “What if I’m-”

“Chizu! There is no way this is even remotely your fault!” Yuzuru grabs his brother’s hands. “You would never hurt him, no matter what.” He scoffs. “You even tried to keep yourself indebted to him.” He does his best to reproduce the calming scent of Itsuki - lavender and vanilla. Chizuru starts taking deep breaths. The rotting scent disappears. 

“But what if something comes because of us?” Chizuru’s voice sounds small.

“He’ll be fine. You gave him a protection charm, right?” Chizuru nods. “He’ll be protected against anything fae-related that comes near, then.”

“Alright.” Chizuru sulks off to his room.

Yuzuru frowns. He had never really thought about the possibility that something might follow them here and attack their loved o- friends but now the suggestion haunts him. He looks at the hair tie that Kanade lent him hanging off his wrist. For once, Chizuru might have been more practical than he is. A protection charm is an excellent idea.

* * *

Yuzuru stands in the corridor, fiddling with a hair tie in his hands. The protection charm. It's bright red, with purple flower petals encased in bubbles attached to it. It feels a little cheesy to give something so overt like this to Kanade, but at the same time, Yuzuru doesn’t mind losing a piece of his dignity to know that Kanade is protected.

He knocks on the door. He chose a time where the residence is mostly empty aside from Kanade; he doesn’t need Shin or Itsuki overlooking his loss of dignity. Yuzuru waits. A minute passes. He knocks again. Something’s not right. Maybe Kanade went out for a bit.

Yuzuru sits on the ground in front of the dorm and waits. He sends a message to Kanade. Ten minutes pass. He sends a message to Shin, asking if he knows where Kanade is. Another ten minutes pass. He dials Itsuki’s phone number. Itsuki doesn’t pick up.

Something is wrong. Yuzuru feels it in his gut. A creeping sense of dread that finally made it all the way up to his head. 

He needs to get in that room now.

After a quick glance around him, Yuzuru puts his hand on the doorknob. He can’t risk any humans seeing him use magic. After a few attempts, the doorknob finally turns. Yuzuru enters, closing the door quietly behind him.

Their residence looks like a warzone. Yuzuru barely has the chance to step deeper into the residence when the scent finally hits him. Fae. Yuzuru growls, preparing his magic. It doesn’t smell like that of a fae who belongs to the court, but it reeks.

Maybe they were onto something about the ghost. And Yuzuru didn’t believe them.

“Kana-chan? Shin? Itsuki?” His words echo off the walls. He’s never been in their residence alone. Yuzuru checks his phone. No one has replied to his messages.

The stink makes him want to vomit, but Yuzuru braves it and enters Kanade’s room.

It’s a mess. The scent is even stronger now and it takes all of Yuzuru’s strength to not run out immediately. He clutches the hair tie tighter. Kanade’s books are strewn about on the floor, clothes hanging out of the dresser. The sight makes Yuzuru recoil. He steps out to compare it to the other two rooms. Itsuki’s is immaculate and unbothered. Some of Shin’s things are on the ground but there isn’t as much strewn about as Kanade’s.

He steps back into the hallway, not quite sure what to do. He dials Chizuru.

“Chizu?” His voice is shaking.

“Yuzu? Are you ok?”

“Are you with Itsuki?”

“Mhm.”

“Can you come to the residence now? Please.”

“Alright.” Chizuru chirps, hanging up immediately. He must sound pretty desperate if his brother decided not to ask questions.

He hears a door open. Shin staggers out of the bathroom. The fae smell intensifies. Yuzuru’s brain short circuits. He tackles Shin, both of them landing on the ground.

“What happened? Where the hell is Kanade?!” He demands.

Shin’s gaze is glazed over. He mumbles something, but it sounds incoherent. 

Yuzuru shakes him. “What happened? Where’s Kanade?” His voice cracks.

Shin stares past him.

The sound of the key in the door nearly makes him jump. Chizuru and Itsuki burst in.

“Yuzu?”

Yuzuru meets his brother’s eyes. He’s still on top of Shin, but strong arms wrap around him and pull him off. Itsuki. He doesn’t even notice the tear tracks running down his face until he’s set down on the couch.

Chizuru’s arms are around him. Yuzuru leans into the hug, grasping the now-useless protection charm in his hand.

“Someone's Taken Kanade.”


	9. Geranium (ゼラニウム)

The doorbell rings.

Yuto ignores it, picking up the remains of a shattered vase and gently placing the pieces in a cardboard box. He doesn’t want to throw anything away before he can give it a once over.

The doorbell rings again. And again. And again. Yuto storms over to the door, about to scream at the kids who are holding down the doorbell. Four university students stand on his doorstep.

“Are you sure this is the right address?” Whispers one of the twins.

“It has to be this one, it’s the only one that doesn’t smell like normal humans.” Replies the second.

Yuto shuts the door in their face.

The doorbell rings incessantly. Yuto sighs and opens the door again.

“What?!” He yells.

“Can you help us?” Says the second twin. “Our friend got Taken.”

This isn’t a request for him. It’s for his grandma. But his grandma is dead. He doesn’t have to deal with this anymore. Yuto gives them a once over. Their faces look desperate. His grandma would never turn them away.

“Fine, you can come in. Just don’t touch anything.” He swings the door open and the four filter in cautiously. Yuto makes sure to lock the door behind them. Twin one immediately goes to bookshelves, hovering close enough to make Yuto want to yank him away. The tallest one beats him to it, putting a hand on the other’s shoulder and gently steering him away from the shelves. At least one of them can follow rules.

“Tea or coffee?” It comes out as a hiss, but he’s just trying to do what his gran would.

The twins both flinch, stunned into silence.

“Hmm, can I have coffee-”

“We’re fine.”

Yuto frowns.

Twin number two mimics him. “So what happened to the lorekeeper who lives here?”

His senses kick into high gear. Yuto grabs twin two by the collar, ignoring the others’ gasps. “Are you interested because you had something to do with it?” He spits. He feels it now, stronger than before. He’s just let Fae into his gran’s house.

“Jeez, just because I’m a fae doesn’t mean that I did it.” Twin two glares back. “We came here because our friend was taken by a particularly stinky fae. I smell some of it here too.” He wrinkles his nose in disgust.

Yuto growls. “Taken means your friend is still alive.”

Twin one speaks up again. “So the lorekeeper is…?”

“Dead.” Whispers Yuto. “And she was the last, so… you’re out of luck.”

“What about you?” Twin number two doesn’t seem to know when to shut up.

“I’m just her grandson making sure no one touches her shit.”

“Well, clearly you know a thing or two about this ‘shit’ so you must know something about being a lorekeeper.”

“I know that I’ll never be one because some fucking fae got in here and made sure of that.”

“Hey, it wasn’t us.”

“Whatever.”

The group fidgets on the sofa. Yuto is five seconds away from kicking all of them out. Even if their friend is taken. Even if it’s not what his grandma would do.

“But you still know some things, right?” Twin one steps into his line of sight with the biggest puppy eyes Yuto has ever seen. “Some is better than nothing and we could really use some right now to help our friend, please?”

Yuto groans. “I’ll check my gran’s stuff and see if I can find something!”

Twin one throws his arms around him. Yuto stiffens. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you~!”

Once he finally escapes twin one’s grasp, he goes towards the bookshelf. His grandmother kept things organized by subject mostly, so all the books related to being Taken should be in this area approximately. Yuto pulls the oldest looking book from the shelf. The Comprehensive Crab Compendium, First Edition. Yuto sighs and puts it back. Dealings with Deals Done Under Duress. Yuto opens it.

As he reads, his mind wanders to the group sitting in the parlour. He glances behind him. They seem placated, talking quietly amongst themselves. It’s quite clear to him now that the twins are fae. He feels stupid for letting them in, but fae don’t usually come with humans, so maybe this is a good exception. One of the humans seems a little off, the one who asked for coffee. There’s something strangely fae-like about him.

“Your friend is probably in the fae realm now,” Yuto can hear twin two’s eyeroll. “It’s hard to get in and even harder to get out.” He can hear a bit of scuffling and scolding. “But I can help you do it.” He slams the book shut and places it back on the shelf.

“Really?” Twin one’s eyes shine as they look up at him.

“Yeah.”

Twin two narrows his eyes. “So what will we owe you?”

Yuto frowns. He hadn’t thought about that yet. “I don’t know what I have to do exactly yet.”

“Can’t you guess?”

Yuto knows what his grandma would do. Even if he doesn’t necessarily like these people, he’s not doing it for them, he’s doing it for his grandmother. “It’s free. Freely given.”

Twin two shuts up. Yuto feels a little smug about it.

“Do you need us to do anything?” The tallest looks slightly uncomfortable speaking, but the question is clearly enunciated.

“Bring something that’s dear but you don’t mind parting with and tell me your first names.”

“Yuzuru.”

“Chizuru.”

“Shin.”

“I’m Itsuki, thank you for helping us.”

Yuto nods. “Great, now never do that again.” He doesn’t have time to baby all four of them. The two fae probably don’t need his help, but he still feels a need to protect them too. There’s something about fae twins as well that he just can’t get unstuck on. Hopefully it’ll come to him later on. Yuto digs through his grandmother’s old protection charms. They’re in the process of falling apart and likely won’t be useful for long in the fae realm, but he’ll take something over nothing.

“Ugh, you reek.” Twin two - Yuzuru - holds his nose.

“Good, it’s working.”

“So how are we gonna get there?” Chizuru bounces back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“You guys are ready to leave now?”

The group look at each other.

“It’s going to be dangerous, so maybe you shouldn’t go, Icchan.”

“Shin’s going-”

“He caused this bullshit.” Interrupts Yuzuru.

“-and Kanade’s my friend. I’ll go even if it’s as dangerous as walking straight into traffic.”

Chizuru flinches.

Yuto takes the silence as affirmation. “Alright.” He glances at the twins. “You can’t take us?”

Chizuru shakes his head. “We kind of live in the middle of nowhere. It wouldn’t be easy for us to get wherever they took Kanade.” Yuto hopes he can figure out why this fae twin business bothers him before it comes to bite them in the ass.

“There’s a fairy circle out back. Only if you’re all ready. Once we go, there’s no going back.”

Yuzuru immediately blows past him. “We’re definitely ready. There’s no other option.” The others follow, Itsuki keeping a tight hold on Chizuru as they walk through the shelves.

The grass seems greener than usual, especially considering the autumn weather. Yuto takes it as a sign.

He hopes he’s not making a big mistake.


	10. Forsythia (連翹)

Transportation by fairy circle isn’t usually this smooth, Yuto suspects the twins’ might have something to do with that.

“Woah.”

The landscape is certainly breathtaking as usual. Unusual buildings in metallic colours are viewable from the horizon and they seem to have landed in a field of unusually coloured forget-me-nots. Chizuru bends down.

“Don’t pick them.”

Yuto turns to glare at Yuzuru. Yuzuru glares right back. There’s something intrinsically annoying about talking in unison unintentionally.

“They’re fine, see?” Chizuru holds a bouquet of them in his hands.

When did he grab them? Yuto wants to scream. Not even a minute in and they’re already in a potential problem. He scans the horizon for the sight of an angry farmer but there’s none in sight. Some butterflies come to rest on the flowers in Chizuru’s bouquet. As they flap their wings, the pattern sinks into Yuto’s brain.

“They’re poisonous.”

“Huh?” A butterfly has moved off of the flower and onto Chizuru’s hand.

Yuto winces.

“Not to fae.” Yuzuru rolls his eyes.

“But to humans?”

Yuto nearly jumps. Shin’s voice is clear but surprising - he had almost forgotten he was there. He nods.

“Oh.” Chizuru holds the bouquet, steady as a rock. “What should I do, then?” The butterflies are starting to flutter onto his hair.

“Nothing.” Yuto reaches out for Shin and Itsuki’s arms slowly pulling them back. Hopefully, once they got bored with Chizuru, they would move onto the rest of the flower field and ignore them. They take careful methodical steps backwards. It seems a little silly to be so scared of butterflies, but considering how deadly these ones are, it’s worth being cautious.

Yuto tugs them back again but this time Itsuki doesn’t step back.

“Um, Yuto? Is this poisonous too?”

Yuto follows Itsuki’s finger to spot the trouble. Some sort of weed has wrapped around his foot.

“No.” He actually doesn’t know, but a calm companion is certainly better than a stressed one. He pulls out a knife, but before he can even use it, Yuzuru is at their side.

“I’ll take care of this.” He puts his hands near the weed. Yuto can feel the magic from here. The weed quickly rots and falls away. Itsuki shakes his foot loose. “Does it hurt?” The words come out in a monotone that makes Yuto feel relieved about his own professional bedside manner.

Itsuki takes a reluctant step, shifting his body weight. “No, I’m fine.”

The words make Yuzuru narrow his eyes. “Alright.”

“Icchan!” Chizuru comes running over. There are no butterflies in sight.

“Where are they?” Yuto demands. He doesn’t want to take another step and get ambushed by butterflies.

Chizuru shrugs. “I think they were sick or something, they all fell to the ground after a bit.” Yuto raises an eyebrow. It’s suspicious that they would all die like that, but they don’t have much time to think about it. “Where are we going?”

“Lorekeeper shrine.”

“Aww, not into the city?”

“Not with this group.” Deadpans Yuto. “And we need supplies.”

Luckily the shrine isn’t too far. Past the flower field there’s a clearing that most fae don’t go near. There’s a historical reason, but Yuto knows that no matter what fae think about humans, there’s nothing more compelling to them than an excellent deal and tradition. The lorekeepers, albeit human, are still respected. He hopes that same respect extends to him.

The two humans are silent on the walk. Shin sometimes stops to scribble in his notebook but Yuzuru always seems to notice and drags him back. There’s some sort of unresolved tension there. Maybe that almost fae-like vibe he gets from Shin is related to it. Meanwhile Itsuki and Chizuru walk hand in hand, Chizuru blabbering on about their house and Itsuki making reactionary noises, but not much else. Yuto’s not exactly surprised. The first time his grandmother took him to the fae realm as a child, he’d been scared stiff. All the rules about touching and conversation were drilled into his head and he had been scared of doing things wrong. He wishes she could be here to help.

“It’s bigger than I expected.” Murmurs Yuzuru.

The shrine looks almost like a small house from the outside. _This is your home, Yuto._ His grandmother’s voice echoes in his head. He pushes open the door.

He doesn’t know why part of him expected his grandmother to be inside, but he feels the disappointment. He sets his bag down. “We’ll be safe here for a while.”

Yuzuru narrows his eyes. “What’s the plan then, lorekeeper?”

“Rest, supplies, and information.”

“Don’t need rest.”

“Maybe you don’t, but your human companions do.” Yuto nods at Shin and Itsuki. “Thought travelling was stressful for fae too.” He looks down at Yuzuru.

“We’ve gotten used to it!” Chirps Chizuru. Yuto’s not entirely surprised, considering that they must bounce back between the human and fae realms often.

“Well, than you can help me pack up supplies.” He pulls out two bags and hands it to the twins. “Pantry is that way.” He turns towards Shin and Itsuki.

“I don’t feel that tired-” starts Shin.

“You won’t get many opportunities to sleep safe and it’s better to power nap now than have it creep up on you. Beds are in the next room over.”

“Don’t you need sleep, Yuto?” He feels a little touched at Itsuki’s concern but he’ll be damned if he lets it show.

“Not as much, I’ve got a biological advantage in my favour.” Fae blood runs through every lorekeeper’s veins. It’s part of what helps them be so respected, part of what lets them handle the bullshit that is fae magic. “Go.”

The two reluctantly leave, closing the door to the room behind them. Yuto’s never seen university students so unenthusiastic to go to sleep.

“Hey,” Yuzuru is at his side. “You should go to sleep.”

Yuto glares.

“It wouldn’t do us any good to have our guide keel over from exhaustion.”

He has to concede the point, especially considering that they’ll be sleeping a lot less once they get on the road.

“Don’t need dumb mistakes happening because you thought you were high and mighty.”

Yuto nearly grabs Yuzuru’s collar again, but the fae just steps out of the way.

“See, you’re so slow.”

Yuto growls. He normally wouldn’t leave this unchallenged, but for once, the thought of a pillow underneath his head is far more appealing than a fight; so he settles for slamming the door loudly behind him as he leaves.


	11. Cirsium (薊)

Yuto sleeps like a rock. When he wakes up feeling fully refreshed, it’s just a reminder of how little sleep he’s been getting since his grandmother’s death.

Shin is sitting on a chair beside the bed, scribbling in his notebook. Yuto almost leans over out of curiosity if Itsuki didn’t choose to roll over that very second, flailing. Yuto moves off the bed before he gets kicked.

“Night terrors.” States Shin. Yuto stares blankly. He didn’t ask a question. “He’s been having them a lot recently. So did our roommate, Kanade. The one who got taken.”

Yuto frowns. From the description it almost sounds like a contagion. “You don’t?”

“I rarely dream.” Shin goes back to his notebook, scribbling some more. Yuto takes that as his cue to leave.

From what he’s observed, the Taken human - Kanade - and Yuzuru seem to have some sort of bond. So do Itsuki and Chizuru. Shin is the odd one out, but it seems like he has something to do with why Kanade was taken.

The bags are neatly packed and on the table, the twins jumping up when they see him approach.

“Are we going into the city?” Chizuru grabs his hands in excitement.

“No.”

“So how are you going to figure out where Kanade is then?” Yuzuru crosses his arms.

“I’ve got a bit of lorekeeper magic that I can use for that.”

“So?”

“I’ll show you when it’s done.” He doesn’t want them peering over his shoulder the whole time. He would rather not mess up in front of an audience.

Yuto storms off to the study, locking himself in. Any interruptions or spectators will only throw him off. He scans the shelves until he finds what he’s looking for: _Finding Found and Unfound_ as well as map paper. His grandmother didn’t get to teach him much but she did teach him this. Yuto grabs ink and a pen, carefully drawing a compass rose on the map as well as the location of the lorekeeper’s house as the centre. The sacrificial knife hanging on the wall is a little dusty, but Yuto isn’t in the mood to go and wash it, using it to make a small cut on his finger, dripping the resulting blood onto the map. He takes the book, repeating the words as clearly as he can. Finally, he grabs a seeing stone, placing it carefully on top of the map. The map absorbs it, rippling as a new circle pops up to the northeast, bright red. That’s where Kanade is.

Yuto puts everything back carefully; luckily he cut his non-dominant hand so as to avoid dripping blood all over the book. The papercut-sized injury is already barely bleeding, so Yuto takes the opportunity to leave the study with the knife in one hand and the map in the other.

He shoves the map into Yuzuru’s arms at the first opportunity. “Here. That’s where he is.”

He doesn’t stop to explain, instead heading straight to the sink to wash his hand and the knife.

“Ah, that’s so cool~!” Chizuru gushes. “But where is that?”

“Didn’t you learn how to read human maps?” Yuto scoffs.

“I don’t think even humans know how to read human maps.” Retorts Yuzuru.

“North-east from here?” Comments Shin. Yuto nearly jumps. He thought Shin would still be in the bedroom. “What’s the scale on the map?”

Yuzuru raises an eyebrow. “You can figure this out?”

Shin shrugs. “It’s not overly complicated. It is missing a lot of details that would be nice to know, however. Do you know what the terrain is like?”

Yuto wipes the knife clean with a towel. “Didn’t get to fill that part in yet.” He pauses. “From what I remember, there should be a lake here, might have to cross a river and we’re definitely going to have to go through a forest.”

“The Forest of Mist?” Questions Yuzuru?

Yuto shrugs. “Might be.” He doesn’t quite remember all the fancy names that fae give to their natural phenomena.

Yuzuru sighs. “No one goes through the Forest of Mist-”

“No fae.” Corrects Yuto.

“It’s dangerous.” Grits Yuzuru.

“It’s fast. Do you want to rescue your friend sooner or later?”

Yuzuru crosses his arms.

“Exactly.”

“Icchan, don’t you want to look at the map?

Itsuki sits by the window, absentmindedly staring outside. “Ah, I’m useless with directions. I don’t think I’ll be much help.”

“Oh.”

“How do you tell North in this realm?” Asks Shin.

“With the same compass.” Yuto pulls out the old family compass from his bag.

“Ah, so that still works here. I tried to do it on my phone but it didn’t quite give a coherent result.”

“Your phone is useless here, you would be better off not bringing it along.”

“Is it okay if we leave it here then?” Itsuki pulls out his phone and puts it on the table.

“I’ll keep them locked in the chest if you like.” Both Shin and Itsuki nod. Yuto takes their phones - and his own - placing it in the chest in the study. He locks them, placing the key underneath the map papers.

“So when are we leaving?” Chizuru is nearly vibrating.

“If everyone feels alright, we can leave right now.”

“Let’s go then!” Chizuru nearly bounces off the door.

“Wait, who’s carrying the supplies?” Yuzuru holds up the two bags they prepared.

“I’ll take one,” offers Itsuki.

“And I’ll carry the other.” Mumbles Yuto after no one else offers.

The other three have more simple, personal item-related supplies. Yuto is surprised at the weight of the pack. It’s not heavy, but he’ll be feeling the burden after a few hours, he suspects. Itsuki takes it with a smile, passing Shin some of his personal items to carry.

“First we should go-” Yuto stares at the compass. “Back through the flower field.”

“Yay!” Chizuru jumps, almost skipping ahead if his brother didn’t reach out and pull him back. Yuto holds back a groan. He’s going to need to keep a close eye on this group, isn’t he?

He passes the compass to Shin. “Can I trust you to navigate?” Mostly because he’s not the greatest at it himself.

Shin nods, taking it and the map.

Yuto pretends not to notice as Chizuru gathers some forget-me-nots and places them in his bag. He needs to keep an eye out for butterflies.


	12. Tuberose (チューベローズ)

The walking is starting to get tiring, but Yuto doesn’t want to be the first one to ask for a break. Shin seems strangely energetic and Itsuki wears a pleased smile. Neither of the two seem like they’re close to being tired yet. The twins seem fine as well: Chizuru bounces with each step and Yuzuru has a solemn determination in his pace. Yuto is quite certain that if they knew where to go, the twins would probably far outpace the rest of them to the point that they would be more burdens than boons.

Another moment passes and Yuto is starting to feel out of shape. The bag of supplies is definitely weighing on him more, but what kind of lorekeeper would he be if he asked to stop?

“Is it starting to get foggy?” Questions Itsuki.

Yuto looks around. A strange mist is closing in.

“That’s not normal,” mutters Yuzuru.

It’s definitely not. Yuto isn’t quite sure what to make of this. Or what to do. There’s no buildings or tall vegetation nearby. Nowhere to hide.

“It burns, a little.” Shin holds up his hand. A small blue, hail-like pellet rests on top.

Yuzuru smack it out of his hand. “Well, don’t touch it if it burns!”

“I don’t think we’re going to have much of a choice.”

In a few seconds, hail starts pelting down on them. Yuzuru hisses as one lands on him, a small magical shield popping up instinctively.

“It’s getting thicker,” frets Itsuki, seemingly unaffected by the hail.

A drop falls on Yuto’s skin, it tingles. It’s strange that this hurts the fae more than him, judging from Yuzuru and Chizuru’s reactions. However, Shin mentioned that he had felt it burn...

They need a plan. “Yuzuru, can you make that shield big enough for all of us?”

Yuzuru meets his eyes. “Yeah.”

Chizuru pouts. “But if it’s bigger, it won’t last as long. I can help!”

Shin puts a hand to his chin. “Why don’t we sit down? That way the shield doesn’t have to be that tall.”

“Alright.” The plants scratch Yuto’s arms, but he’s glad to finally unload his pack and place it on the ground. Not even a second later, a translucent dome appears around them.

“Is this good enough?”

“How long can you keep it up?”

“Maybe an hour at most? Longer if Chizu helps me.”

“No.” Interrupts Shin. “You should rotate. That way we won’t risk you both being tired, if this lasts longer than both of you would combined.”

“Oh, ok.” Chizuru slumps back down.

An uncomfortable silence settles over them, penetrated only by the faint sound of the hail hitting the shield.

“So,” starts Yuzuru, in a tone that makes the temperature drop five degrees. “Is this your fault too?” The glare sent Shin’s way is nothing short of murderous.

“Yuzuru, I’m sure it’s not-” Itsuki is cut off by Shin.

“I think it is.” Shin lowers his head. “I’m sorry for being the one indirectly responsible for Kanade’s capture. I saw that same fae in my dream last night...”

“Wait, is this the one that killed my grandmother?”

“Smells the same, at least.” Spits out Yuzuru.

Yuto feels a fire run through his veins. He stands up, leaving the sheltered dome. 

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Yu-kun!”

He can’t see anything. The hail-mist obstructs his view.

“Hey!” He screams. “Where the hell are you, you bastard?!”

“Oh, did someone say my name?” A blond fae floats in midair, giving him a smug grin. Yuto knows, he can feel it: this is the fae that killed his grandmother. Except... he’s not a full fae. There’s something distinctly human about those purple eyes that stare back.

The realization isn’t enough to deter him. “I’m gonna kill you,” he growls, lunging forward.

The smug grin twists into a maniacal smile. With a snap of his fingers, the human fae dissolves into the mist.

“Arghhhhhhh!” Yuto strangles the air.

“Frustrated?”

Yuto whips his head around. Another blond fae stands there, shield fashioned in the form of an umbrella to stop the hail.

“What do you care?” He bites back. He’s not in the mood to be polite.

The fae wears a smooth smile, clearly ignoring Yuto’s bitter tone. “Why don’t I help you out?”

“I don’t want your help.” 

The fae chuckles. “Please, it’s a wonder you haven’t attracted the attentions of another with your strong emotions.”

Yuto rolls his eyes. He wishes he could just tell this fae to fuck off. “What’s it to you?”

The fae puts a hand on Yuto’s shoulder. “I can ease your pain. With just one little kiss, you can have a moment with no negative emotions. How does that sound?”

Yuto narrows his eyes. “A minute.”

The fae scowls for a second before going back to a patient smile. “Two minutes, or else it will be gone so fast you might miss it.”

“Deal.” Yuto knows this is a bad idea, but at this point, he doesn’t give a shit.

The fae pulls him in.

Their lips meet and Yuto feels himself instantly relax. All the stress and grief are lifted from his shoulders. He almost wants to cry at the sudden elation that’s coursing through him. When their lips finally unlock, Yuto barely even notices. He hasn’t felt this happy since before his grandmother died. The warmth spreads throughout his body, all the way to the extremities.

“Enjoy.” Yuto watches as the fae walks off into the mist, unable to stop the corners of his lips from curling upwards.

He stands there alone, smiling as the pelting hail tingles his skin.

Those two minutes are too short.

The grief comes crashing down on him like an unsupportable wave. Yuto falls onto his knees as tears start pooling in his eyes. They trickle down, falling like the hail. It’s overwhelming. He can’t even recall those two minutes of brief ecstasy anymore.

“Yuto?” Itsuki’s arm is on his shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Yuto shakes his head. They stay there for a moment, in the driving hail.

“Let’s go back.” Itsuki pulls him up onto his feet, guiding him back to the shield. No one asks him any more questions. “Why don’t you rest a bit?”

Yuto takes the advice, emotions too muddled to think of anything else. He lies down and closes his eyes. Sleep comes in that very second.


	13. Azalea (躑躅)

When he wakes up, the shield is down. It’s no longer hailing. Yuzuru sits calmly, fiddling with the edges of his red fraying sweater. Chizuru and Itsuki are lying down back to back, fast asleep.

“And here I was thinking that you would never wake up.” Yuzuru rolls his eyes.

“What happened?” Yuto feels far too exhausted to pick a fight with Yuzuru.

“After you passed out? Shin was right, we had to switch. I got woken up a while ago and the hail stopped a bit after that.”

“How long did it go on for?”

“Human time? Like three hours total.”

The reluctance to wake him up makes more sense now.

“Hey, you smell like someone dumped a bottle of perfume on you.”

Yuto nearly snaps at the seemingly random comment until he realizes what Yuzuru is getting at. The protection charms don’t work anymore. He growls, pulling them off himself and throwing them on the ground. He watches Yuzuru’s face change into a grimace, fiddling with the hair tie on his wrist. Yuto looks back at the now-useless protection charms, picking them back off the ground. He can’t bring himself to just throw them away. He opens his bag, sliding them into an inner pocket. It brings a little warmth to his body.

“We should get going.”

“I put up wards.” States Yuzuru, looking him head on. Yuto spares the sleeping pair a glance.

“We should get going.”

Yuzuru gives him a scowl, but goes to shake his brother awake.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Itsuki sleep so well in a while.”

Yuto flinches. Shin somehow approached without making a sound. It’s more than a little frightening. He grunts. “Still have to wake him up.” Shin gives him a side-eye but doesn’t get far before a half-awake Chizuru does the job for him.

“Alright Yu-kun, we’re ready!” The inherent peppiness of Chizuru’s tone despite being asleep a minute ago makes Yuto cringe. He’s a little jealous but mostly weirded out. He could definitely believe that Chizuru is a fae made of pure energy.

“Then let’s go.”

The walk turns boring again, Yuto mentally checking out about after an hour or so. Itsuki and Shin are discussing university classes, with Chizuru hanging on every word. Yuzuru blazes ahead, almost out of sight for them until he suddenly stops.

“What’s wrong, Yuzu?” Calls Chizuru.

“Canyon.”

As they get closer, the canyon unfolds before them. The drop is far too steep and the valley itself far too wide. It’ll take days to cross and they’d have to find a way down first.

“What do we do?”

“There’s a bridge over there,” points out Shin.

Sure enough, a bridge that he can barely make out is slight distance away. An unstable rope bridge swings in the gentle breeze.

“Good luck with that.” Mutters Yuzuru.

“Yuzu, where’s your sense of adventure?”

Yuzuru rolls his eyes. “Where’s your sense of self-preservation?” He mocks back. “We can cross it without the bridge, Chizu.”

Chizuru crosses his arms. “Well I think it’ll be a nice adventure.”

Yuto wishes he could be as optimistic.

Once they finally get to the bridge, Yuto feels too wary to take the first step. Everything about the scenario feels wrong. They don’t have much of a choice, however, considering the glare Yuzuru is sending his way.

“Ooooo, can I go first?” Chizuru bounces from side to side.

“Go for it,” mumbles Yuto, looking around. Itsuki is staring down the edge of the canyon while Shin lets his eyes wander upwards, looking everywhere but the drop.

Yuzuru huffs. “I’ll wait until you’re all over and cross with magic. This shit isn’t worth it.”

Yuto wishes he could do the same.

The bridge seems to hold Chizuru’s weight, at least; although, he is considerably smaller than the rest of them. He’s fae too, so part of his size could just be glamour… Yuto shakes his head. He can’t overthink this, he’ll just psyche himself out.

Itsuki takes a step onto the bridge once Chizuru is about halfway across. The bridge shifts under his weight. He grabs the rope handrails. It stabilizes. He turns around, extending his arm out to Shin.

“See, it’s fine. Come on.”

Shin shakes his head, face going pale. For a moment, Yuto wonders if he will vomit. He never considered that one of them might have a fear of heights, but it’s not like they have another way to cross.

Itsuki reaches out, firmly grabbing Shin’s hand and pulling him on with a small tug. Shin stumbles onto the bridge, the change in weight making the bridge lurch. Yuto watches as Shin closes his eyes tight. He can’t look away. Shin’s legs are shaking with every step, making the rickety bridge shake with it.

“Look, Chizu’s already at the other side. We’ll be just fine. Just one more step. And another.” Itsuki has a gentle smile as he faces Shin, coaxing him forwards. As they reach the middle, Yuto has to give Itsuki props for slowly coaching Shin across the bridge. He doesn’t think he could keep his cool in a scenario like this.

“Hey, idiot. Are you gonna cross the bridge or just watch them do it?”

Yuto’s expression turns into a scowl. As much as he would enjoy picking a fight with Yuzuru, he does have a point. He takes his first step onto the unsteady bridge. The vibrations make him grab the handrail. Shin’s fear suddenly seems justified as he looks down at the deep valley below him. If he falls off, he’s as good as dead.

“Never thought someone like you would freeze up on something as simple as crossing a bridge.”

“If it’s so easy, why don’t you fucking do it?”

Yuzuru looks at his nails. “No, thanks.” 

Yuto almost lets go of the handrails, hands forming fists. But then the bridge swerves. He keeps his hands on the handrails and his head down. One step at a time.

“Oh shit.” The curse seems sacrilegious coming from Itsuki and it’s temptation enough for Yuto to look up. He’s holding a snake in his hand. The image is fantastical enough to make Yuto look away and back again, just to double check what he’s seeing. There is definitely a snake in Itsuki’s hand. The rope on that section of the bridge is no longer there, Shin grasping the rope on the other side tightly with his eyes shut. Yuto now has a lot of questions regarding the integrity of the bridge, but he knows that now is not the time to question a possibly magic bridge, especially since the thought of falling into the canyon below makes his stomach start doing flip-flops. 

Itsuki finally manages to throw the snake off; Yuto watches its descent with a morbid sense of curiosity. He doesn’t hear when it finally lands on the ground. He’s pretty sure that’s not a good sign.

“Come on, Shin.” Itsuki extends his hand again, holding onto the one good handrail as he faces Shin. Just the idea of crossing the bridge backwards makes Yuto’s steps more shaky. He reaches out for the right handrail and his hand closes around air. He stumbles forwards and the bridge shakes. He falls face first onto the planks. He’s pretty sure this is not helping Shin. The idea of getting up frays his already damaged nerves, but as he watches Shin open his eyes and take another step forwards, he realizes that he can’t lose.

Yuto slowly gets onto his feet and rises up. He doesn’t grab the rope, trusting in his own balance to keep him steady as he moves ahead. Eventually, he catches up to Shin and Itsuki, about three quarters of the way from the edge of the bridge.

“I can do it…” Mumbles Shin. “The ground… so close…” He takes a shaky step. “One more…”

Watching Shin is giving him anxiety. Right now, Yuto wants nothing more than to blaze past him and get off the bridge, but he can’t. A few agonizing steps later, his foot finally touches solid ground. 

“This is the ground,” mumbles Shin, nearly collapsing on the spot.

“Are we going to have to rest again?” Whines Yuzuru. Yuto does a double take. He never noticed how or when Yuzuru crossed.

Shin doesn’t get up. Yuto is going to take that as a yes.

Itsuki gives them a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, I didn’t think that his fear of heights would come into play.”

Chizuru hangs off Itsuki’s arms. “Shi-kun is scared of heights? What else are humans scared of?”

Itsuki’s smile grows more strained. “Well, I’m not sure if this is all that important-”

Yuto frowns. “If it’s going to set us back, I think it is.”

“Right. Well, Shin is scared of heights and ghosts - any horror movie scenarios really.”

“What about you?” Yuto crosses his arms.

“Ah, just the usual things. I don’t freeze up often though, so it’s fine.”

Yuto narrows his eyes. So does Yuzuru.

Chizuru smiles. “Icchan, you’re so reliable!”

Itsuki gives an awkward chuckle. “Yeah, I guess.”

They all sit down next to Shin. Yuto hopes that five minutes will be enough of a break so Shin can recover and they can keep going.


	14. Crocus sativus (サフラン)

Luckily, Shin no longer appears to be in shock after a few minutes so they can get a move on again.

“Hey, hotshot.” Yuzuru calls out.

“What?” Bites back Yuto.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way? You didn’t say anything about a canyon before.”

Yuto scowls. He already knows that he’s not all that familiar with the terrain up here. Most of his knowledge comes from maps he briefly looked at once or twice in his life. He’s not quite sure what to say in reply without throwing into jeopardy the integrity of his rudimentary map. Hell, he’s not even sure if he did it properly himself.

“We’re going the right way,” states Shin, examining the compass and the map.

Yuzuru bites on his lip.

“Do you have any better ideas?” Retorts Yuto.

Yuzuru doesn’t reply. Yuto holds back the urge to shout ‘exactly’.

The colour of the sky slowly starts to change, from a light blue to a light purple.

“That’s different.” Mutters Shin.

“Wow.” Itsuki stops in his path, staring upwards to admire the colour.

Yuzuru growls as he looks back of both of them. “We should keep moving. Don’t stop here.”

The colour slowly turns to a deep purple as they continue their trek, Yuto starting to wonder just how long they’ll go without a stop again.

“Isn’t it dangerous?” Asks Shin. “To be out at night?”

Yuzuru rolls his eyes. “It’s not really night. And whatever comes out we can fight off.”

That statement doesn’t reassure Shin, it seems, considering the way his hands tremble as he holds the map. Itsuki walks over to ask him a question, and the two whisper together for a moment.

“Why don’t we rest here?” Suggests Itsuki.

“I can’t really see the map anymore,” states Shin.

The deep indigo is a little hard on the eyes, but Yuto himself feels a little surprised at the realization that maybe not everyone can see in this pseudo-night.

Yuzuru rolls his eyes again. Yuto resists making a comment about them getting stuck there. “Fine.”

“I’ll take first watch,” volunteers Yuto. They’re out in open fields again. It’s only a slightly more trustworthy area than a forest.

“Me too.” Yuzuru scowls. “I already got the rest I need.” He sends a dagger filled glare at Itsuki, who has the dignity to look a little sheepish. Shin however, seems nonplussed as he sets his bag on the ground, pulling out his notebook and scribbling a few words. Yuto drops his bag on the ground, cringing when the racket it causes reaches his ears. Suddenly, Yuzuru’s death glare is on him. “At least let us put up some wards before you try alerting the entire universe to our presence.”

Yuto sits by the bag, using it as a backrest while Shin and Itsuki lay down between the group. Part of him wonders how the hell he’s going to get any sleep like this, awkwardly watched over by the rest of his traveling companions. Instead of feeling tired, he suddenly feels wired from all the tension that’s soaking the air.

“We set up all the wards.” Yuzuru sounds drained for once. “Feel free to sleep or whatever it is you humans need to rest.”

Chizuru is practically placing Itsuki’s head in his lap when they both pay attention.

“Chizu, what are you doing?”

“He’s having bad dreams again, I think this helps.”

Yuzuru raises an eyebrow. “Don’t bother. Especially if you’re using magic. We have to save it.” 

Chizuru sighs, shifting away from Itsuki. “Fine.”

After a few minutes of loud silence, Yuto stands up. “I’m going to take a bathroom break.” The tension continues; neither Yuzuru nor Chizuru reply. He stalks off, knowing that the wards placed are likely only covering a small area and that he has to be quick if he doesn’t want any unfortunate interruptions.

“Frustrated?” The blond fae smiles at him, twirling a rose in his hand. Yuto nearly screams in frustration. He’s getting sick of being surrounded by people and fae. He would kill for some time alone. “I’ve got just the solution for that.”

Yuto turns around to tell the fae no, that he can shove that rose where the light never shines, but then his words get stuck in his throat. Those happy feelings. That all too brief period of time where he didn’t feel crushing grief or painful stress and responsibility is engraved in his brain as something unattainable. But here in front of him is the opportunity to have it once more.

“How much?” He finds himself saying.

“A kiss… and a name to call you by. I can’t keep kissing you if I don’t have that.” Teases the fae.

“Five minutes without negative emotions, and you give me a name to call you by in return.”

The fae twirls the rose, considering his proposition.

“You’ve got yourself a deal...”

“Yuto.”

“Well, Yuto, you can call me Keigo.”

Something about the name makes Yuto almost smile. They both know there’s no power attached to either of their names, considering how the deal was made, but there is still something satisfying attached to putting a name to someone.

Keigo leans in. “I’ll see you again soon, Yuto.”

Yuto eagerly leans into the kiss, enthusiastically meeting Keigo’s lips. The feeling of warmth that enters his body is incomparable. He pulls himself closer, cupping Keigo’s face. He can feel Keigo’s lips turn upwards into a smile. 

Keigo eventually breaks the kiss. “That’s enough for now, don’t you think?” Before Yuto can even reply, Keigo disappears.

He stumbles back to their makeshift camp, feeling like he’s walking on clouds.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Yuzuru’s scowl seems to be a permanent fixture on his face.

Yuto wipes the smile off his face, but it doesn’t stop him from still feeling the high. He sits down next to Chizuru. Maybe Yuzuru could use something like what Keigo does to be less grumpy.

Chizuru beams at him. “Yu-kun, what makes you happy?”

“Bunnies.” States Yuto. “They’re so soft. You’re kind of like one.” He pets Chizuru on the head. 

Chizuru gives him wide eyes. “Do you really think so?”

“Yeah.”

Then the negative emotions return. This time, the physical impact doesn’t feel as severe, but he briefly wonders if his brain will implode from the pressure. He moves onto the ground next to his sleeping companions.

“Yu-kun, are you feeling alright?”

“Tired,” he grunts. “Gonna sleep.”

“Ok.”

Yuto closes his eyes, relieved when sleep finally comes.


	15. Silene (虫取り撫子)

Yuto wakes up to the sight of the twins’ sleeping forms. They’re cuddled up together, resting peacefully. No scared shaking, anxious mumbling or grief-filled crying. Maybe the last one is a little more personal than he would like to think. Itsuki is sitting nearby, going through a notebook, scribbling in the margins. Shin’s notebook. Yuto leans over his shoulder. Words are scribbled all over the page, some forming coherent sentences but most like fleeting thoughts captured in the moment.

“What are you doing?”

“Editing Shin’s poems,” replies Itsuki.

“He writes poems?”

“He writes a little of everything.” A small, reminiscent smile grows on Itsuki’s face. “But he likes writing poems the most.” He scribbles a thought down in the margin. “He always gets me and Kanade to edit them.” He flips back a few pages. “I think you’ll want to see this.”

Itsuki hands the notebook to Yuto, pointing at the earmarked page. The poem is simply titled ‘Mirror’ - the word ‘Liquid’ before it being scratched out. He skims through it. He’s not so good with poetry - he prefers straightforward words to flowery language - but he can understand the gist of it. It’s about the reflection in a mirror being similar to another world; a reflection of oneself that is deeper and darker.

There’s no doubt in Yuto’s mind: it’s about that troublemaking fae. The fae who killed his grandmother, took Kanade and is apparently somehow Shin’s reflection.

Speaking of Shin… “Where the hell is he?”

“Nature break.”

Yuto didn’t expect nature break to mean actually looking at nature, but so be it. Shin is sitting down near a field of flowers, writing away in another notebook. He plops himself down next to him and waits.

After a stretched out silence, Shin speaks up. “I thought you wanted to leave right away.”

Yuto rolls his eyes. “I think you’ve got me mixed up with Yuzuru.”

Shin gives him a knowing smile. “I don’t think so.”

Yuto feels a little unnerved by that.

“We should go back.” Shin clutches notebook number two tight to his chest, getting onto his feet. Yuto slowly stands to follow him.

“Yuto?” Shin’s hand suddenly wraps around his. “Don’t let go.”

The statement chills him to the core. What does Shin mean? What the hell is he talking about? He’s about to yank his arm out of his grasp and demand an explanation when mist forms around them.

He does it anyways. “What the hell?”

He feels Shin’s hand brush his arm but he doesn’t see Shin anymore. He can hear laughter to his left.

“Seriously? He gives you a warning and you still let go?” The voice sets Yuto’s emotions ablaze. He knows exactly who it is. The fae stares him down, bright purple eyes daring him to make a move. ”I thought that out of everyone, you - little lorekeeper, would know to heed mysterious warnings.”

Yuto lunges forwards, swinging his fist. The moment it connects gives him a satisfying thrill as he watches the fae’s expression turn incensed, red blood dripping out of his nose. The fae lifts his hand to his nose, staring incredulously at the blood.

“That’s it, you’re dying now.” The fae spits, raising an arm.

Yuto raises a rudimentary shield. His magic is far weaker than that of the twins, but it does manage to deflect the attack away from him before shattering. The attacks continue, intensifying in speed until Yuto struggles to get his shield up. The attack hits him in the arm, momentum pushing him over. He rolls when he hits the ground, using the momentum to get back up again. He needs to get closer, where the fae’s magical advantage will be useless.

He dodges the attacks sent at him physically this time, using a shield to deflect them only when the trajectory is head on. He can see the situation sinking into the fae’s mind as they scowl. It’s his pleasure to wipe that scowl off with another punch.

The fae coughs up blood. “Fuck you.”

Yuto raises an eyebrow as he prepares another punch. The fae stumbles backwards into the mist.

“Have fun trying to save all your charges from me.” A coughing laughter echoes around him. Shin’s words come back to him. Don’t let go.

Yuto stumbles around, but the mist is impossible to see through. He can’t just walk around aimlessly, he’ll only drift farther from everyone else. A lightbulb finally goes off in his head. The supplies. He digs through his bag, grateful that he at least had the sense to put all the magical items in his own pack. Yuto knows exactly what he’s looking for. There’s a lot of cylindrical objects, but none as slim as the black candle he pulls out. He’s a little out of practice at lighting one with magic, but after a few tries, it burns steadily.

Yuto lifts the candle up, moving it around him. He needs to make his way back to where they set up camp. The candle doesn’t illuminate much, maybe ten meters or so in every direction. But it’s better than nothing.

“Yuto!” He hears Shin calling out to him. He moves in the direction of the voice. Shin is waving one hand, the other hanging limply by his side.

“Where’s your notebook?” It’s not the first question that came to his mind, but it feels like the most relevant.

“He took it.” There’s a tone of sadness in Shin’s voice, as if he knows what the other fae will do to it.

Yuto narrows his eyes. “Did you know what was going to happen?”

Shin frowns. “Yes? Not really. I had a strange dream. Everything was covered in mist. All of us got separated. Junya was burning my notebooks on…” He trails off. Yuto doesn’t feel morbid enough to ask him to finish the sentence.

“Junya?”

“That’s his name. He told me.” Yuto frowns. That’s certainly not the fae’s True Name, but it’s nice to know what name to say when cursing him out. 

A piece of wax falls onto his hands. Yuto remembers the ticking clock. “We have to find everyone else.”

“Right,” replies Shin, wrapping his hand around Yuto’s free hand. “Before what happened in my dream can fully play out.” He mutters, mostly to himself. Yuto shakes his head. Childhood friends with freakishly strange dreams. Now that sounds like a prophecy in the making.

They stay silent as they walk towards their camp. Yuto doesn’t want to call out names and alert something else that might be lurking in the mist to their presence. 

“Yu-kun! Shi-kun!”

Yuto would facepalm if he had a hand free. If there was something in the shadows, it’s almost certainly heard them now. Chizuru calls their names repeatedly, even as he runs into their arms. A frowning Yuzuru trails behind. Yuto takes care not to drop the candle despite Chizuru’s jostling.

“Have you seen Icchan?”

Shin shakes his head. “Wasn’t he nearby when you woke up?”

“No,” Chizuru’s lower lip trembles. 

Yuto feels compelled to avoid the waterworks if possible. “I’m sure we can find him.”

Yuzuru scoffs. “Itsuki got lost walking down a straight street once.”

“Multiple times.” Adds Shin.

Chizuru bursts into tears. “It’s so misty, we can’t see anything-”

“There’s light right here…”

“How are we gonna find Icchan?”

Yuto glances at Shin, maybe he has some idea from his dream or something? Shin shrugs.

Yuzuru rolls his eyes. “Didn’t you give him a protection charm, Chizu?”

Chizuru sniffles. “Yeah.”

“Well then he’s fine, don’t get all snotty about it.”

Chizuru wipes his eyes with his sweater sleeves. “You’re right, Yuzu! Icchan is alright, we just need to find him!” He bounds forwards, almost immediately out of range of the candle.

“Wait!” Calls Shin. “Not so fast, we should all stick together. Junya is still out there.”

“Can’t you dismantle the mist?” Asks Yuto.

Yuzuru rolls his eyes again. “We can’t do everything. We’re fae, not miracle workers.”

Yuto sighs.

“Icchan! Icchan! Icchan!” Chizuru calls out multiple times, varying the tone and the pitch with every try. Yuto’s given up on trying to keep him quiet while they slowly comb the area, there’s no point. There probably isn’t anything in this fog aside from Junya and themselves.

“Over here.” Itsuki’s voice sounds weak as it rings out from somewhere on their right.

“Icchan!” Chizuru takes off, leaving them to catch up as he races towards Itsuki.

The scene is a bloody mess. Itsuki is lying on the ground, bag of supplies nowhere in sight. His face is bruised and bloody, but aside from that, there seems to be no magical damage. Chizuru is driven to tears by the sight.

“Are you alright?” Shin extends his hand, pulling Itsuki to his feet.

“My face has been used as a punching bag, but aside from that, I’m perfectly fine.”

“That’s not fine-” Starts Yuzuru.

“No magical damage?” Questions Yuto, leaning in to properly inspect him.

Itsuki shakes his head. “None, thanks to Chizuru.” Yuto sees it now, the pendant around Itsuki’s neck. It’s a simple looking protection charm, but must be powerful enough to defend from most fae magic. “He got mad, but he disappeared when he heard you guys coming.”

Sure enough, the mist starts disappearing around them. Yuto carefully blows out the candle and puts it back in his bag. There’s enough left for them to use another time. Speaking of supplies…

“Ah, I dropped the bag of supplies before he caught up to me.” He turns to Shin. “I put the notebook in there.”

Shin’s mouth forms a perfect o-shape. “Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

Yuzuru sighs. “Come on, bozos. Let’s get the supplies before you bleed out or something.”

They find the bag near the end of a hill, where it must have rolled post-drop. Yuto feels relieved that they haven’t lost their supplies and considering Shin’s face when he pulls out the notebook, he’s relieved too.

“Come here.” Yuto waves Itsuki over. The latter gives him a sheepish smile as Yuto pulls him down to start disinfecting the wounds. 

Chizuru hovers over them as Yuto pulls out the needle. “What’s that?”

“He needs stitches.” Mutters Yuto, doing his best not to lose his nerve as he threads the needle in and out. He’s done it before, but never on someone else.

Chizuru stays silent for a moment, watching the expressions on Itsuki’s face while Yuto does his best to mostly ignore them. “Can’t we use magic?”

Yuzuru growls. “We have to save it, Chizu! What if that asshole comes back?”

“I’m fine, Chizu. It hurts a little but Yuto is doing a great job.” Chizuru doesn’t seem convinced. Yuto isn’t sure he is either, considering Itsuki is sporting a black eye and innumerable cuts. At least his nose and teeth are intact.

Yuto frowns. “Did he come at you with a knife or something?” He didn’t see Junya with a weapon when he attacked.

“Something like that.” Chuckles Itsuki, pausing to take a few deep breaths shortly after. “It looked like something between a knife and scissors. He only took it out after the magic didn’t work.”

Shin leans in. “Did he say anything?”

“Aside from the death threats? He asked for the notebook. I told him I didn’t know where it was.”

Yuzuru frowns. “All that for a silly notebook?”

“It’s not silly.” Both Shin and Itsuki reply in unison.

Yuto narrows his eyes. “Do you know what he wanted?”

Itsuki sighs. “He wants to destroy Shin’s place.”

The puzzle pieces snap into place. Changelings. Junya and Shin are changelings. It explains the not-quite-fae sensation he got from Shin when they met and the red blood that Junya bled. The murderous persona, the luring and playing with important figures in the others’ life, it all screams jealous changeling.

Yuto frowns. “Are you good enough to keep going for now?” He’s not an idiot. He knows Itsuki needs rest to recover. But right now rest is a luxury they can’t afford.

“Yeah.” Itsuki nods, slowly standing up. He extends his hand for the supply bag. Yuto almost gives it to him but Shin snatches it from his grasp.

“I’ll take it for now. You can carry the other bag.”

“Alright.” Itsuki takes the lighter bag from Shin, swinging it over his shoulder. Yuto sighs. At least one member of their group has a brain.


	16. Hypericum (弟切草)

To Itsuki’s credit, he carries on just as well as he did before. Yuto gave him some cooling salve for the black eye and the swelling and it seems to be working. 

As they walk, there isn’t any background conversations or snide comments this time. Just silence as they trek on.

“How much longer do we have to walk?” Whines Chizuru.

“Maybe we could use a stop,” suggests Shin.

Yuzuru snatches the map out of Shin’s hands. “Let me see.”

“You’re holding it upside down.”

Yuzuru scowls, flipping the map over. He squints as he stares at it. Shin leans over his shoulder.

“We’re around here.” He points at a spot on the map.

“Are you serious? We’re still a day away from the Forest of Mists?”

Shin shrugs.

Yuzuru grits his teeth. “We’re not resting until we cross the river.” He shoves the map back into Shin’s arms, storming ahead.

“Yuzu!” Chizuru takes off, running after his brother.

Yuto glances back. Shin nods at him. He takes that as a sign to follow. Yuto catches up to the twins midway in argument; Chizuru runs surprisingly fast.

“Yuzu, please!” Chizuru is tugging on Yuzuru’s sleeve. “Icchan’s hurt and he needs rest if we can’t use magic on him!”

Yuzuru growls. “What if it was Itsuki?” He tears his arm out of Chizuru’s grasp. “What if it was Itsuki who was taken and you don’t know if he’s even alive?” Yuzuru’s voice cracks. “Kanade could be hurt far worse and he’s all alone…”

“Yuzu...”

Yuto’s not quite sure what to say. He’s not very good at false platitudes. “Taken people don’t usually get hurt that bad.” Yuzuru gives him a blank stare. “It’s a lot worse to be unallied and human than Taken, in terms of physical pain.”

“I’m not just worried about the physical pain, idiot.”

Yuto shrugs. “Can’t you communicate with him or something?” He feels like there’s a fact he’s misremembering.

Yuzuru scoffs. “We’re not magically connected or whatever it is you think. Geez, you weren’t kidding when you said you weren’t the lorekeeper.”

Yuto feels an anger start to course through his veins. “What the hell did you just say?” The whole time, he’s been letting Yuzuru’s sarcastic comments slide. He doesn’t think he can do that this time. He reaches out and grabs Yuzuru’s shoulder, pulling him closer.

Yuzuru’s expression changes from disdain to panic. He starts to squirm. “Quit it asshole, let go of me.” He swings a flimsy punch at Yuto. Yuto catches it with his hand. He puts pressure on the fist, stopping Yuzuru from pulling it out of his grasp. “You made your point, let go.” Yuzuru tries to yank it out with his other hand, but he’s certainly outmatched.

“Yu-kun,” Chizuru’s voice almost weakens his grip. “What are you doing?” He sounds small and far away. “Yu-kun! Let go of Yuzu!” Chizuru tugs on his arm, the one that’s clutching Yuzuru tight. Yuto looks at Chizuru’s face, panicked and teary eyed. Yuto finally lets go.

Yuzuru jerks away from him, immediately trying to pull Chizuru back. All Yuto can do is stare. The glare Yuzuru sends him is all he needs. Yuto backs off, stepping away from the twins. He crossed a line he never meant to. He watches as Chizuru frets over Yuzuru, the two of them chatting amongst themselves. If the twins wanted to separate and look for Kanade without him, he wouldn’t blame them.

The thought hits him like a lightning bolt. Shin and Itsuki should have caught up to them by now. Yuto turns, heading back in the direction where they came from.

“Yu-kun?”

“Where the hell are you going?”

“Checking.” Is all he bothers to reply, saving the rest of his breath for the sprint with his pack. On second thought, maybe he should have left it with the twins. He doesn’t have to run as much as he expected to, however. He arrives at the zone of utter chaos faster than he expected.

Shin is paralyzed on the ground, hands clutching a few crumpled pages in an iron grip. Yuto realizes the strange thing on the ground is the cover of one of Shin’s notebooks, the one he was carrying today. Pages from the notebook are strewn about, some lifted by the weak breeze. A few metres away, is the culprit. Junya stands over Itsuki, who is also on the ground, but not from paralysis. The big sword Junya is carrying around seems to be the culprit. Junya swings his sword overhead, Itsuki catching it flat between his palms before it can reach his chest. The tip dangles dangerously close to the protection charm. Junya scowls, about to pull it out when Itsuki pulls it down and to the side, throwing Junya off balance.

Yuto takes the opportunity to tackle Junya, pinning him to the ground. Junya squirms under him. Yuto can feel the magic as its’s being cast. His muscles seize up, but he struggles against it. He has a natural resilience against magic, even if it’s not as good as a protection charm. Yuto wishes his grandmother’s protection charms still worked, but he’s going to have to take care of this himself. Junya starts to slip out of his now loose grip, stumbling up onto his feet. Yuto manages to coordinate his muscles enough to grab onto his ankle as he is leaving. Junya fires another shot of magic, but even if he can’t summon a shield in time, someone else does.

Chizuru and Yuzuru send death glares at Junya, the former sending a blast of light that so bright it brings him to his knees. Junya reaches for the sword, but Itsuki is there first, pulling it away from him. Yuto tries to fire back with magic of his own, but his body isn’t responding to him as quickly as he would like. It’s Yuzuru who hits Junya with magic, flower vines wrapping around Junya’s legs.

Junya scowls, raising his hands. A blast of pure magic hits him, knocking him out. The world goes white.


	17. Hyacinthoides (ブルーベル)

“Yuto?”

Yuto moans, blinking his eyes open. It takes his eyes a few seconds to actually start seeing what’s around him. Itsuki is leaning over him, a worried look on his face.

“I tried shaking Chizu and Yuzuru awake, but they’re still out. I think Shin was awake but he’s unconscious now.”

“Oh.” That’s the only noise Yuto can make right now. His head feels like it got slammed into a concrete wall. He tries to stand up but settles for sitting straight up, shaking as he does so. “That protection charm is pretty strong.” He slurs.

Itsuki fingers it, small smile growing on his face. “I guess it is.”

Yuto notices the blood trailing down Itsuki’s arms. “Are you his practice dummy?”

Itsuki laughs awkwardly. “It seems like it.” He opens his hand to reveal the cut. “It’s pretty shallow, but it’s bleeding a lot.”

“Anywhere else?”

Itsuki holds out his right leg. “There’s a gash here too.” 

Yuto winces. “Where’s the sword?”

Itsuki lifts his not-bleeding hand. The sword is awkwardly grasped, still covered in some of Ituski’s blood. “He didn’t try to grab it when he left.”

Yuto reaches for it. Itsuki pulls it back. Yuto stares. Itsuki looks down at the ground.

“Sorry, you just wanted to see it, right?” Itsuki hands the sword over to Yuto, fingers trembling as he lets go.

Yuto moves over to his bag down on the ground, pulling out a cloth and wiping the sword with it. There’s a few snowflakes engraved in the blade, as well as two flowers on the hilt. It’s a weapon that probably belonged to a low ranking soldier in the Winter Court. Just how many people has Junya been stealing magic from?

Yuto hands the blade back to Itsuki. His hands stop trembling as he grips it tight. “Why don’t we clean up your wounds?” 

“What about them?” Itsuki’s gaze rests on the unconscious twins.

Yuto shrugs. “They can rest, they’ll be fine.”

Disinfecting and stitching up Itsuki’s wounds goes smoother than last time. His stitches are neater and Itsuki doesn’t wince as much at his touch. When they’re done, neither the twins nor Shin show any signs of waking up soon. Yuto is starting to get a little worried, but this isn’t entirely an uncommon thing. He’s exhausted.

“Why don’t you go to sleep?” He suggests.

“Huh? Isn’t it dangerous?”

Yuto shrugs. “I can put up some wards. You need to recover and I don’t think they-” he gestures at the twins “- will be out for long.”

“Will you be alright?”

Yuto nods. “Worst comes to happen, I can use the sword.”

“Ok.” Itsuki places the sword next to his bag. “Wake me up once you get tired.”

Yuto nods, knowing he won’t do that at all. He looks away, not wanting to make it hard for Itsuki to fall asleep. Making a ward isn’t that hard, even for someone who isn’t that good with magic like him. It’s probably not nearly as sturdy as something the twins could make though.

One of Shin’s poems catches his eye. They’re still scattered in the area. Yuto bends over, picking it up. As he reads the words about friendship and favours, he can’t help but feel a little called out. He slides the paper in Shin’s personal bag. There are still a few others flittering about. Yuto does his best to pick up all the surrounding ones, including the ones Shin dropped on the ground next to him, and put them away in the bag.

“Never thought you would take the time to do something like that.”

The sound of Yuzuru’s voice makes him freeze. Yuto slowly turns around, shrugging. Yuzuru’s comments still infuriate him a bit but he’s already seen what happened when he loses his temper.

“What’s the damage?” Yuzuru picks up the sword, staring at it.

“Notebook. Itsuki’s left hand and right calf.”

Almost as if on cue, Itsuki cries out. Both Yuto and Yuzuru lean over to get a better look, but it seems like he’s still perfectly asleep.

Yuzuru frowns. Yuto briefly recalls Shin’s words. “Do you know anything about their night terrors?”

“Night terrors?” Repeats Yuzuru. He looks off into the distance. “I thought they were just dreams.” Maybe Shin is the one who knows the most about this then.

“What are you going to do with the sword?” Yuzuru inspects it, running his hand along it.

“Isn’t it a little long for you?”

Yuzuru scowls, handing it back to Yuto. “I don’t like swords anyways.”

Yuto stares at it. He doesn’t really have any weapons training. His grandmother was a pacifist and well, he always prefers using his fists. A weapon is a weapon though; it could certainly give them an advantage. “Shin or Itsuki can take it.”

Yuzuru snorts. “I can’t picture either of them with it.”

Yuto can’t either. Both seem too soft and fragile to actually hurt someone else. Shin, who prefers words and Itsuki, who prefers kindness. He shrugs. If one of them wants it, they can take it. If not… Itsuki will probably end up carrying it. He seems strangely attached to it already. Yuto looks it over again. Is there magic infused in it? Then again, Yuzuru probably would have told him if there was.

“What’cha looking at?”

Yuto’s hand slides, he nearly cuts himself on the sword. Chizuru leans over his shoulder.

“Ooooo, is that a sword?” He reaches for it. Yuto reluctantly passes it to him. Chizuru swings it around. “Wow, it’s so cool!”

“It’s not a toy, Chizu. It’s too long for you, put it down.” Chizuru sticks his tongue out at Yuzuru as he places it on the ground next to Yuto. “How long were we out?”

Yuto realizes he didn’t ask Itsuki that. He probably should have. “Not more than half an hour.”

Chizuru finally seems to notice Itsuki on the ground nearby. “Icchan! Is he okay?”

Yuto nods. “He got scratched by the sword, but I disinfected the wounds and stitched him up. He fell asleep a while ago.”

Chizuru looks him up and down before bounding closer. “You should go to sleep too, Yu-kun.”

He isn’t as tired as he was before, but if both twins are awake and the other two are asleep, it is a more optimal time to take a rest. He doesn’t exactly want to be walking right now anyways. Yuto nods.

“I put some wards up, feel free to reinforce them. If Shin wakes up, tell him to go back to sleep.” He looks at Yuzuru. “We’ll reach the forest by midday tomorrow, I swear.”

Yuzuru nods. “We better.”

Yuto lies down on the smoothest patch of ground he can find. It’s still not comfortable. Exhaustion takes him faster than he expected.


	18. Arctium (牛蒡)

He wakes up feeling fairly well rested, despite a crick in his neck. Yuto stretches, spotting the twins watching his every move out of the corner of his eye. He doesn’t like the sensation.

“What’s going on?” He barks. 

The twins shrug. “Just bored." Replies Yuzuru. There’s nothing much going on.”

“Oh.” He could use Keigo for once, but he doesn’t want to summon the fae in the presence of the twins. “How long have I been out?” The sky is a deep indigo again, meaning it’s likely been at least two hours. 

“Four hours? I don’t know. Human time is weird.”

Yuto nods. It’s about time he woke up then. “Did Shin wake up?”

Yuzuru shakes his head. Yuto feels a little unnerved. He probably should have woken up between that time, but maybe he just made the smooth transition over to sleep. He moves over to Shin, not quite sure how to approach waking him up. He settles on gently shaking him, hoping that it will do the trick.

“Hm?” Shin opens his eyes. He jerks upright. “Are we leaving now?”

“In a bit.” Mutters Yuto, a little surprised at how quickly Shin is coherent. He feels like the only night owl in a group full of early risers. He turns towards Itsuki, but Chizuru is already leaning over him.

“Icchan?” Chizuru gently caresses Itsuki’s cheek, kissing his forehead. Yuto stares openly. For all the time they spent calling for each other and physically close, they hadn’t engaged in an actual act of affection in front of Yuto before this at least. Itsuki shifts, turning in Chizuru’s direction before he finally opens his eyes. He shifts away slightly. Chizuru’s expression turns into confusion. Yuto feels slightly better about his not a morning person status.

Chizuru reaches for Itsuki. Itsuki flinches away. The confusion on Chizuru’s face turns into hurt. Yuto frowns. This is a little more excessive than just not being a morning person. Chizuru reaches out again, looking like he’s going to burst into tears. His hand brushes Itsuki’s shoulder. Itsuki screams.

It’s such an alien sound. Chizuru bursts into tears almost immediately, Shin rushing over to Itsuki’s side. Itsuki backs away, flinching at the contact from Shin as well. He’s muttering something to himself that Yuto can’t properly make out: it sounds like ‘wake up’?

Night terrors.

Shin comes closer again, murmuring soothing nonsense. He doesn’t get close enough for Itsuki to touch him, but it seems to calm him down a little. Itsuki’s eyes slowly slide shut, head slipping back against the ground.

There’s a silence for a few moments.

“What the fuck was that?” Yuzuru stares at Shin, clearly the only person who seems to know anything about it.

“Night terrors.” Shin pauses. “They’re not very common in adults, but both Itsuki and Kanade have been having them for a week or two now.”

“That dumb ghost.” Mutters Yuzuru. 

Yuto feels like he’s missing something. “Is it always like that?”

Shin shakes his head. “Not usually. Mostly it just seems like wild dreams and nightmares. But they’ve both had a night terror like this before.” He sighs. “Kanade pushed me into the wall during one.”

“And you didn’t think to tell us?” There’s a sharp edge to Yuzuru’s voice.

Shin shakes his head. “They both thought it was midterm stress.”

“But you didn’t.” Replies Yuzuru flatly.

Shin pauses. “I felt something… strange in the apartment. I thought I was imagining it though.”

“Even when they mentioned the ghost?”

“Even then.”

“Well, do you feel it now?” Yuzuru crosses his arms and huffs.

Shin shakes his head. “I think that’s for a reason, however. One I haven’t yet figured out.”

The group falls quiet for a few moments. Yuzuru marches over to Itsuki’s side, shaking him awake.

“Oi!”

“Yuzu! Please don’t-” Chizuru falls silent halfway through his plea.

Itsuki shifts and rubs his eyes. “Yuzu?” The surprise in his voice is palpable.

“What the fuck just happened?”

Itsuki struggles for words. “What? What just happened?”

“You. Screaming. Hurt. Chizu.” Yuzuru points a finger dramatically in Itsuki’s face.

“I hurt Chizu?” Itsuki sounds confused. He turns to Chizuru, whose tear tracks shine in the reflection of the light. “I’m sorry, Chizu. I… don’t remember what happened.”

“At all?” Yuzuru leans in.

Itsuki flinches. “Well, I remember a kiss on my forehead.” He pauses, clearly trying to search his memory for something else as Yuzuru keeps sending an accusatory glare. “Also… hands on my shoulder?”

Yuzuru huffs. “It’s a little too convenient for me.”

Shin asks a question before Itsuki can reply. “What were you dreaming about?”

“I don’t remember,” replies Itsuki, far too quick for him to actually be telling the truth.

Shin seems satisfied with the platitude. Yuto sure as hell isn’t.

“What were you dreaming about?”

Itsuki frowns. “I’d prefer not to share unless I have to.”

“You have to.” Growls Yuzuru, smoothing Chizuru’s hair. Chizuru hasn’t looked Itsuki in the eyes since the semi rejection.

Itsuki seems to stumble for words. “I-” He stops himself. “No, that’s not right.”

“It’s recounting your dream, not your life story!”

“It’s hard to remember. I don’t want to lie.” Itsuki seems terribly thrown off guard by Yuzuru’s verbal offence. “I - except it wasn’t really me, but I guess it was the eyes I was seeing the world through-” Yuto’s already confused. Shin seems to be taking notes however, so at least he can glance at those when Itsuki finishes. “- I was flying.” Itsuki pauses. “Except it wasn’t under my control. It was like someone else was pulling the strings. I landed on the ground nearby after a little bit, it wasn’t anywhere near here but it looked kind of similar I guess. The ground was covered with dead bodies and blood, but it wasn’t red. There were so many different colours - silver, gold, pink and orange - but I knew it was blood.” Itsuki looks like he is about to vomit. “Then I looked at my hands. The same blood was all over my hands. I wanted to scream but it was like my body didn’t agree. I walked past them coldly to the river to wash my hands. I looked in the water and my own reflection stared back but-” Itsuki raises a hand to his face. “It wasn’t me. It can’t be.”

“I don’t know,” mutters Yuzuru. “You seem pretty capable of hurting someone.” Yuto whips his head around to stare at Yuzuru. It’s the exact opposite of what he said before. He moves his glance to the other twin. Chizuru doesn’t come to Itsuki’s defence. Shin seems too busy scribbling in his notebook to actually contribute to the conversation.

“Do you really think so?” Itsuki’s voice breaks. Yuzuru doesn’t reply.

Yuto doesn’t know what to say. Itsuki seems genuinely upset by Yuzuru’s comments, but Yuto can understand that Yuzuru is only lashing out because of his brother. His dream is strange and definitely fantastical: flying, and multicoloured blood - blood the same colour as the courts, maybe that is a key. But there’s something he’s forgetting here. Something about dreams. There’s something deeper that lies at the root of them, Yuto is sure of it. Especially since both humans have been having strange dreams long before setting foot in this other world.

“You never took Itsuki and Kanade here?” The question slips out before he knows it.

“No.” Spits Yuzuru. “If Kanade hadn’t gotten Taken, we wouldn’t have blown our cover.”

Yuto shrugs. Sometimes exposure to the fae realm drives humans to insanity. In this case though, it seems like the insanity came for them.

“Shin, did Kanade ever tell you about his nightmares?”

“What does it matter?” Interrupts Yuzuru. Yuto raises an eyebrow at his interruption.

“They might be connected.” Breathes Shin. “But he never told me what they were about.”

“Itsuki?”

Itsuki shakes his head.

He ends up staring down the exact person he expects to be the one who knows. “Yuzuru?”

Yuzuru glares at him. “He dreamt about being stuck in the complete dark with voices surrounding him and a breath on the back of his neck.”

Shin side eyes Itsuki. “Have you had this dream before?”

“No?” Itsuki pauses. “Maybe. I don’t really remember.”

“Does your dream feel familiar?” Asks Yuto. Really, that question is what he needs the answer to.

Itsuki seems to tense up. “Yeah,” he breathes. “It does.”

Yuto hands him the sword. Itsuki looks horrified at the sight of it, despite the fact that he had been gripping it so tightly beforehand. “For the nightmares.”

Yuzuru stares at him like he’s grown a second head. Yuto feels a little smug. The sword likely won’t protect him from the nightmares, but his grandmother had done a similar trick when he was a child with strangely vivid dreams.

_“It’s a struggle all lorekeepers must deal with. But you can take Mr. Bun into your dream. He’ll protect you from all the bad things.”_

The nightmares never bothered him again, until after her death. All his sleep here however, has been too exhausted for dreams and nightmares.

Itsuki grips the sword cautiously, as if it might cut him just from a look. “Are you sure I should take it? Don’t you want it?”

Yuto shakes his head. “I’m better with my fists.” 

“There’s no sheath for it.” Mutters Yuzuru. “He’s going to stab himself on accident.”

Yuto frowns. He certainly hadn’t thought about that. He didn’t bring any big weapons from the safe house, so it’s not like he can change out the sheath from one of those.

“Here.” Chizuru hands Itsuki a sheath. Magic radiates off it, the sheath covered in lavender, forget me nots and another strange flower that Yuto doesn’t recognize.

“Chizu…” Both Itsuki and Yuzuru speak in unison, the latter sending an irritated glare at the former.

“You shouldn’t have used your magic now, Chizu!”

“Well, if it’s going to be useless when Junya attacks us otherwise, what’s the point of saving it?!”

Yuzuru sighs. Yuto hopes even he realizes that he has to concede that point. Junya has been catching them off guard every single time and magic hasn’t been much help against him, considering he seems to have far more of it. 

“Whatever. Let’s just get moving.” Yuzuru scoffs, standing up and stalking off. Chizuru sends one last glance Itsuki’s way before following his brother.

“You’re heading in the wrong direction.” Notes Shin.

The twins immediately switch directions.


	19. Rhododendron (石楠花)

Yuto follows Shin at a distance, who has retaken the lead of the group with the map and the compass. The twins follow closely behind him. Itsuki lags behind, walking at a melancholy pace. There hasn’t been a single conversation after the whole fiasco, except for brief questions like Yuzuru badgering Shin for an estimate of how long it’ll take them to get to the river. Yuto wonders once again if the group will fragment, although this time it wouldn’t be his fault… mostly.

The main fight right now is between the twins and Itsuki. Shin doesn’t hold any animosity towards either side. He has a feeling that if it were an easier subject, Itsuki would be the one who would apologize and make it up to the twins. But there’s something about the dream that is sending him over the edge, something that he hasn’t shared with the rest of them. Maybe Yuto can piece it together with what he already gave to them. After all, Itsuki seemed awfully insistent that despite being the same in appearance, the dream version is distinctly not him. Maybe in the same way that Junya is not Shin? Yuto frowns. He didn’t get a fae-like feel from Itsuki however, just that of a regular human.

He stumbles into Yuzuru, who is stopped ahead of him.

“Geez, watch where you’re going!”

A river is in front of them, lazy current pushing the water downstream. There isn’t a bridge in sight, just a few stepping stones they can use to cross. Before Yuto can suggest looking for another crossing point, Chizuru is already on the first one.

“Chizu?” Yuzuru sounds worried, despite Yuto not being able to spot any serious danger.

“Look, Yuzu, it’s fun!” Chizuru jumps to the next one.

“Don’t just jump without looking, they could be slippery, Chizu!” Itsuki’s voice is unexpected, but he’s the first to follow Chizuru onto a stepping stone.

Yuto frowns. He’s not sure if it’s just him, but it seems like the river current has sped up. He squints at the water. He steps onto the first stone, watching the water flow underneath him. Yup, it definitely seems like it’s going faster now. He steps onto the next one. The current speeds up a little more, water starting to splash onto the stones.

Shin is about to step onto a stone when Yuto lifts his arm up. “Don’t.” Shin nods. He turns to Yuzuru, who is already on a stone. “Don’t take another step.”

Yuzuru crosses his arms. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“The current is speeding up.”

Yuzuru raises an eyebrow. “Good thing we’re not in a hurry then.” The sarcastic tone can’t come through any clearer. “The water does smell a little funky though.” He wrinkles his nose. “It might be-”

“Chizu!”

Yuto turns back to see the front of the group, just in time to see Chizuru slip off a rock and into the water. His brain goes into overdrive. There’s nothing he individually can do to save Chizuru from his fate. Luckily, Chizuru grabs a nearby rock just slightly downstream, but the current is hitting him hard. Yuto feels the wind whipping in the opposite direction of the current before he sees Yuzu hovering by his twin. 

“Grab my hand!” Screams Yuzuru. Yuto doubts that Yuzuru can fully sustain the weight of both of them and fly away, but he’s not sure what other choice he can come up with. Chizuru reaches for his hand, movements slow and laboured. There must be something in the water… and Chizuru’s inhaled some of it already. Their fingers brush. Yuzuru lowers himself, trying to get closer.

There’s only three stepping stones ahead of him, not too far apart. Yuto takes long purposeful strides as he crosses to the other side, setting his bag down and searching through it. He doesn’t think he packed a rope, but if there is even the slightest chance he did…

“Chizu!” Itsuki jumps into the river, tall enough to reach the bottom. The current slows, now that no one is crossing using the stepping stones. Chizuru lets go of the rock, pushing off in Itsuki’s direction. Itsuki grabs him, nearly tossing him onto the shore before climbing out himself.

The two lay on the ground, panting. Yuzuru lands on the ground next to them, immediately running over to his brother. Yuzuru uses some wind magic, drying Chizuru and his clothes. Chizuru mutters something to his brother before his eyes flutter shut.

“Did you inhale any water?” Asks Yuto. 

Itsuki shakes his head, clothes dripping with water. “I tore some of the stitches on my leg though.”

“Alright.” Seeing that Yuzuru is more preoccupied with his brother and likely isn’t in the mood for blowdrying Itsuki, Yuto pulls out a piece of extra fabric from his bag and tosses it to Itsuki. He stares at it for a second until it sinks in and he uses it like a towel. Yuto pulls out his needle and thread, surprised at how neater his stitches have gotten since the first time around. Then again, it’s a shame he’s had to practice his stitches so frequently. Itsuki doesn’t complain, pain likely numbed by the shock of the experience and the cold water.

Yuzuru looms over them, a picturesque representation of dread, staring.

Itsuki turns to Yuzuru. “How’s Chizu?”

“Unconscious, because of that cursed water.” 

“Cursed?”

Yuzuru grumbles. “It’s nothing serious, but he would have recovered by now if he hadn’t used his magic to make that dumb sheath.” 

Itsuki inhales sharply.

Yuto frowns. “How long will it take for him to wake up?”

Yuzuru makes a noncommittal noise before sighing. “I wish I knew.”

Itsuki looks back and forth between them. “We don’t have to stop here. I can carry Chizuru.” The expression of surprise on Yuzuru’s face tugs at Yuto’s lips.

“The forest is just ahead.” Shin’s addition almost makes Yuto jump, but as he follows his gaze, he can see that he’s right. Trees cover the horizon in front of them.

Yuzuru sends a worried glance at Yuto. “Are you sure this is okay?”

Yuto nods. “The forest can be deadly, but it takes less than a day to pass through.”

Yuzuru sighs. He doesn’t even mull it over before replying. “So let’s go.”


	20. Lobelia (瑠璃溝隠)

Once they step into the forest, Yuto can feel the trees shift around him. Yuzuru eyes Itsuki, who is carrying Chizuru piggyback style. Chizuru’s head rests on Itsuki’s shoulder, almost as if he is sleeping. Itsuki is absolved of backpack duties for now, the important supplies are spread out in their different packs.

A gentle breeze wafts through. Yuto feels slightly on edge. The forest is an excellent place for an ambush. This forest also has quite a reputation, even among the lorekeepers. His grandmother spoke of how trees would come to life and hungrily devour travellers. Yuto hopes that’s more of a wild story than a factual truth, but with the time advantage that’s to be gained by traveling through here, the only thing that would keep people away is if your very surroundings could kill you…

Shin fiddles with the map, lifting it up to a small floating ball of light. “Through here.” The canopy of trees is getting thicker and the indigo sky was already hindering his vision; Yuto’s glad he brought the fairy light along.

Yuzuru frowns. “I don’t like this.” Yuto no longer feels the breeze, or even the smallest bit of wind. The sky above them is completely obscured by the trees.

“We’re barely halfway through.” Mutters Yuto. “The faster we go through, the faster we get out.”

It’s easy to get confused, if it wasn’t for the fairy light and Shin’s organization, Yuto fears they would have been lost by now. The trees have started to look the same for a while now. They’re almost out though, only a quarter of the distance left to go.

Yuzuru sniffs the air. “It smells like something is rotting in here. Like really bad.”

Yuto frowns. He can’t smell it, but there is a strange sensation of magic that wasn’t there before, like electricity coursing through the ground, the trees, the air. 

“Mmm, Icchan?” Chizuru shifts on Itsuki’s back, wrapping his arms tighter around his neck.

“Chizu! Are you feeling ok?”

“Mhm. Just a little sleepy~”

Itsuki bends down, but Chizuru doesn’t move to get off.

“Do I have to?” Whines Chizuru, snuggling up to Itsuki’s neck.

“Well-”

“Yes, Chizu.” States Yuzuru. “You have to.”

Chizuru sighs. “Fine.” He slides off Itsuki’s back, moving straight to his twin’s side without a second look. Itsuki reaches out for Chizuru’s hand, but closes it when Chizuru is too far out of his grasp. The twins take two steps forward. A tree branch flies into the ground in front of them like a javelin. They scream.

Yuto looks around. He feels a root underneath his foot move. “Shin? Directions. Now.”

Shin glances hurriedly at the map and the compass. “Follow me.” He breaks off into a jog, fairy light trailing just behind.

Just as Yuto moves to follow, the root that was formerly underneath his foot reaches out for his ankle. He dodges it, not looking back as he follows his friends through the trees.

Shin smartly tries to lead them between trees that are farther apart, but that doesn’t stop leaves flying in their faces or branches and roots reaching out for their limbs. It’s hard to keep track of everyone else when there’s so much to pay attention to. As they run, Yuto reflects on the fact that Shin leading the pack is an excellent decision. He is the slowest runner out of all of them, which makes him easier to follow. 

The twins use magic to shield Shin from some attacks so that he doesn’t get stabbed in the back. Yuto wishes that he worked on his agility before this. Running around like this isn’t quite his idea of fun or a good workout, but it would be better to have the skills to dodges leafy limbs and not use them than be in this hell here.

“Almost there!” Announces Shin. Yuto can barely make him out through all the raining leaves. It’s a miracle he hasn’t tripped on any roots or branches. The twins follow Shin closely, the fairy light and Itsuki just lagging behind. This sprint has been both far longer and far shorter than what Yuto expected. The canopy of trees is thinning out, and Yuto can see hints of a blue sky overhead. He exhales.

There’s a tug on his foot.

Yuto falls face first into the ground, rolling an immeasurable distance before he rolls into a standing position. He can’t stop moving. He can feel another root wrapping around his leg, he tries to yank it out, blasting it with magic as he pulls. It works.

_Yuto? Yuto. Yuto. Yuto. Yuto._ The forest echoes his name. Yuto doesn’t look back. He can see the clearing ahead. Even as leaves swirl and block his vision, he knows he’s heading in the right direction. His instincts heighten, he dodges all the reaching branches, jumping over all the tripping roots. He can’t stop until he reaches open air.

Finally, he sprints past the last tree. Yuto slows down, nearly unable to stop because of the momentum. He barely stops himself from falling over again. It takes a while for him to balance, standing up straight. Scanning the horizon, he sees Chizuru running towards him, the others trailing behind.

“Yuuuuuuuuu-kun!” Chizuru runs straight into Yuto’s arms in an awkward hug. “We were getting worried.”

“What the hell happened?” Demands Yuzuru.

“Tripped on one of those damned tree roots.”

“Ah, they were really tricky, huh Yu-kun~.”

“Where’s Itsuki?” Shin’s cold question cuts straight to the heart of the matter. Yuto didn’t even notice Itsuki wasn’t in this makeshift welcoming party.

“I thought he was still following you guys.” 

Chizuru freezes. “You mean, Icchan isn’t with you?” He peers around Yuto, as if Itsuki could be hiding behind him.

Yuto feels his heart drop into his stomach. He last saw Itsuki before his dreaded final sprint, which means he could be lost in a span of a kilometre from the clearing. That’s a lot of trees and twisted roots.

Chizuru starts running back towards the forest before Yuzuru yanks on his brother’s arm.

“Chizu, what do you think you’re doing?”

“We have to look for Icchan!” His voice cracks, tears already starting to form.

“Come on, Chizu. He has the charm, he’ll be fine.” Yuzuru sounds unconvinced by his own words. 

“Protection charms don’t stop people from getting lost, do they?” Whispers Shin.

Chizuru makes a small magical light. It glows a faint green. The light slowly floats in the direction of the forest, Chizuru and Shin following it. Yuto feels slightly relieved that Chizuru can use magic to find Itsuki, especially since he wasn’t exactly sure how to do it himself. Yuzuru grumbles, but he follows along reluctantly as well.

When they reenter the forest, the trees sway gently in the breeze around them. There is no strange electricity, no reaching roots, no blocking leaves. The trees are calmed. Sated. It leaves an uneasy pit in Yuto’s stomach. Chizuru’s green light seems brighter now, floating deeper into the forest. Yuto feels a small spark of recognition. The trees in the forest look mostly the same, but he got a far closer look at these ones compared to the others when he fell face first on the ground.

The ball of light slowly approaches a tree, illuminating a trinket hanging off one of its branches. The protection charm.

“No.” Chizuru approaches the tree. For a moment, Yuto wonders if it’s a trick, a setup just for their capture. But Chizuru picks the charm off the branch, staring at it before collapsing to his knees. “No.” He whispers, tears flowing down at an exponential rate as he clutches the charm close to his chest.

Shin looks at Yuto, expression full of questions. “Is there another way to find him?”

Yuto has never been a fan of false platitudes. He still isn’t. “He’s dead.” He states calmly. It’s the only explanation that makes complete sense. The charm might have fallen off during the sprint and well, his lack of direction and recent injuries made Itsuki an easier prey for the trees. They wouldn’t be sated otherwise.

Yuzuru leans over to hug his brother, expression growing more and more serious by the minute. 

Shin refuses to move, frozen. “What about the sword?”

“Nutrients.” Mutters Yuto. Shin seems to get the hint.

Yuto can’t stand to be surrounded by trees (surrounded by failure). “Come on, we have to go.”

“Hey, can’t you give a moment?!” Yuzuru notices the words after they slip out of his mouth, judging by how he gasps and covers it up. A few tears escape his eyes.

Yuto feels one escape his own. “We have to go, this forest isn’t safe.” He puts a hand on Shin’s shoulder. Shins startles, nodding in agreement. Yuto wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t hear a word he just said.

“No, we can’t go!” Chizuru grips the charm tighter, making no move to get up. “We have to find Icchan!” It's clear Chizuru is in no state to leave by himself, so Yuto swoops over and picks him up, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Chizuru pounds his fists against Yuto’s back as he starts walking. “No, take me back! We can’t leave without Icchan! We can’t!”

He doesn’t stop once they reach the clearing. He walks farther from the forest, but it’s not far enough. Chizuru has long since stopped squirming, mostly crying silently, shoulders shaking. The sky is getting dark again, turning indigo. No one makes a sound.

It’s only when Yuzuru tugs on his arm does Yuto stop. “Hey, that’s enough. We can’t run ourselves into the ground.” 

Yuto realizes that he’s looking at Yuzuru through his own tears. “Right.” 

He sets Chizuru down on the ground, watching Chizuru’s white knuckles gripping the charm close to his heart. Shin plops down next to him, still completely silent. 

Yuzuru nods at him. “I’ll set up the wards.”

Yuto takes that as his permission to wander off. Once he gets far enough away, he kneels down. Yuto lets out a raw scream, punching the ground as hard as he can.

“Careful, you’ll bruise your fist that way.”

Keigo stands just a short distance away, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Fuck off.” Spits Yuto.

“My, my, and here I though you might appreciate my services tonight.”

“Not tonight.” Yuto growls. He can’t forget this pain. It’s all his fault. If he hadn’t fallen beforehand, he would have been able to check the back of the group and made sure that they all made it out together.

“Alright.” And just like that, Keigo disappears.

No one asks him why his knuckles are bloody when he gets back to camp. He realizes it’s because they all feel the same. Chizuru with his ultra tight grip around the protection charm, Yuzuru and his thousand yard stare, and Shin with his everlasting silence.

Yuto isn’t a fool though. By taking Itsuki with him, he should have been under his protection. He was the one who insisted they go through the forest knowing the risk. He was the one who let his guard down first. Those are the thoughts that lull him to sleep. His fault, his fault, his fault _Yuto Yuto Yuto…_


	21. Calendula (金盞花)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be my last update for about a week. I have a lots of work right now which will hopefully be completed by then.

_Yuto? Yuto! Yuto! Yuto!_ Yuto turns around frantically, surrounded by trees. Itsuki’s voice calls his name. Yuto runs towards the sound, cursing at every dead end he meets. When he finally stumbles upon Itsuki, the latter stares blankly at him, unsheathing the sword. A part of Yuto knows this is what he deserves. The sword is raised above his head. Yuto doesn’t flinch as it comes down.

He wakes up with his head pounding. Both Chizuru and Shin are sleeping nearby, Yuzuru solemnly on guard for the moment. For a moment, all he can see behind closed eyelids is that image of Itsuki raising his sword.

“Are you gonna scream?” Yuzuru’s dry voice interrupts the image.

“What?” Yuto's voice is flat. He doesn't want to have this discussion.

“You looked like you were gonna scream.”

“Why? Because my expression is the same as yours?”

Yuzuru’s features twist into a scowl. Yuto can feel his own face doing the same. They break eye contact. Yuzuru looks at his brother while Yuto looks back at the forest. He can barely make it out on the horizon.

Yuzuru coughs. “No one would blame you, you know?” Yuto glances at him, eyes going wide. Yuzuru refuses to meet his gaze, staring at his sleeping twin on the ground. “It wasn’t your fault. He made his own choice to stop running.” Yuzuru inhales shakily. “Humans die all the time. They’re so fragile.”

Yuto bristles at his last statement, but instead of feeling angrier, he just feels a settling sense of dread.

“I wish they weren’t so fragile.” Whispers Yuzuru, smoothing Chizuru’s hair.

Yuto agrees.

They sit in silence together for what must be a miniature eternity. Yuto barely notices when Chizuru wakes up, uncharacteristically silent. It’s only when his arms are wrapped around his twin does he notice. The two lean on each other’s shoulders, Yuzuru running his hand down Chizuru’s back and whispering soothing words. The guilt returns to Yuto’s shoulders.

Part of him wants to wake up Shin just so that he’s not alone during this time. But that seems unnecessarily cruel. He doesn’t need to see more tears already on top of Chizuru’s own. Yuto lies down, staring up at the sky. Maybe he’ll fall asleep again. Maybe Keigo will come back. Maybe Itsuki is still alive.

Yuto sighs. He can’t let himself hope. Even if there is a small chance that Itsuki is still alive, it’s far too complex. There would have to have been another fae in the forest at the time, one who found Itsuki and took pity on him to save him. And if the fae did save him, the most likely option is that they’ll keep Itsuki fully indentured to the life-debt that he would owe them. In that scenario, Yuto doubts that they would ever see Itsuki again.

But there is a chance that Junya knows where they are. Maybe he would have swooped in once they were gone, taking Itsuki just like he did Kanade. But the last time Junya was with them, he tried to kill Itsuki. Yuto sighs. Junya likely would have attempted to kill Itsuki again this time, or just keep his hands clean and watch as the trees devoured him.

Yuto stares at the sky. It’s clear that dwelling on it won’t bring any more positive possibilities. Even if there is a chance that Itsuki is alive, he won’t have much of a life. He stands up. He needs to stop thinking. He walks away from the campsite.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Yuto lifts his hand in a motion that he hopes Yuzuru will interpret as bathroom break. Just as he reaches a safe distance away, Keigo is immediately in front of him, looking a little disheveled.

“You called?”

Yuto raises an eyebrow. He didn’t. But he has been craving Keigo’s services a little. If there was ever a time not to feel pain, now would certainly be a good time to start.

Keigo approaches. “You know, I could get rid of those nasty feelings for you, just for a moment.”

Yuto opens his mouth, knowing he can’t resist. There’s a small rustling sound that draws his attention. He straightens, turning to look at the source. It’s a small bunny. Yuto lets out a sigh. For a moment, he had thought it was the twins. As he watches it hop away, he can’t help but think of them. They don’t really need his help, they never did. But they’re still looking to him for it, trusting him to help protect them and save his friend. And he failed.

But he can still protect what’s left.

“Just one minute.” He tells Keigo. “I have other things to do after.”

Keigo nods. “What a coincidence. So do I.”

The kiss is the shortest one yet. Yuto isn’t sure if Keigo is mad at him or if he really is in a hurry. Maybe it’s both. Either way, he barely notices Keigo leaving as the positive emotions overwhelm him, responsibility and pressure forgotten.

Keigo was right when he had said a minute was too short. Before he can even fully appreciate the happiness, the grief comes crashing down stronger then before. He falls forward onto his knees, gripping the grass as he struggles to hold back a scream. Tears drop off his face, watering the various fauna at his feet. He can’t go back looking like this. Like the disappointment that he is.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

Yuto jumps. The person behind him isn’t anyone he feared facing, it’s Shin. Shin sits down behind him, so that they both don’t have to see each other’s face.

“Chizu finally stopped crying, I think he ran out of tears.” Shin’s voice sounds shaky compared to it’s usual calm. “I don’t want to set him off again.”

Sometimes Yuto forgets that Itsuki and Shin were childhood friends. Part of him wants to turn around, see Shin's face; the angst, the turmoil, the grief. But he doesn't. They just sit there, backs against each other, pretending that both their shoulders aren't shaking, that they're not sniffling. Yuto mumbles a quiet thanks when Shin passes him a handkerchief. 

Each other's presence makes it more bearable to stand when they finally have to.


End file.
